After a drunk-driving incident, speedskater Kim Min-seok (27), who naturalized as a Hungarian, trained alongside South Korean national team skaters ahead of the 2026 Milan–Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics. The uniform had changed, but the scenes on the track created a strange contrast.
Kim Min-seok appeared as a member of the Hungarian team at a training session held March 3 (Korea time) at the speedskating stadium in Milan, Italy. At the same time, he skated the track with South Korea's speedskating national team members who were training, raising his condition. The skaters who once wore the taegeuk badge and raced together met this time as training partners.
Kim Min-seok is the only speedskater on the Hungarian delegation. In an environment where he had no choice but to train alone, the South Korean national team willingly took on the role of training partners. He mixed in with the sprinters to check his pace, and there was little interaction throughout the training.
Kim Min-seok was once a symbol of South Korea's middle- and long-distance speed skating. He won a silver medal in the men's team pursuit and a bronze in the 1,500 meters at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, and also won a bronze in the 1,500 meters at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Through the Asian Games and the World Cup, he established himself as a leading figure in South Korean men's speed skating.
His trajectory took a sharp downturn in the summer of 2022. He caused a drunk-driving accident at the Jinchun national athletes' village, received disciplinary action, and was subsequently sanctioned by the Korea Skating Union and the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC). Even after his suspension period ended, he could not find a normal training environment, and during this process he accepted a proposal from a Korean coach within the Hungarian team and chose to naturalize.
Under International Olympic Committee (IOC) rules, an athlete who changes nationality can participate in the Olympics only after three years have passed since competing for the previous nationality at an international competition. Kim Min-seok's last competition for his previous nationality was the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, and meeting the rule made him eligible for this event. He will compete for Hungary in the 1,000 meters and 1,500 meters.
However, the outlook is not entirely bright. Kim Min-seok remained around 20th in the International Skating Union (ISU) World Cup 1,500 meters rankings this season. Analysts say he is far from medal contention. In the 1,000 meters, a direct competition dynamic forms with South Korea's Koo Kyung-min.
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