"The last taegeuk mark ended up being Choi Min-jeong (28, Seongnam City Hall)!"
Choi Min-jeong finished first in both the women's 1,500m and 500m at the 2026-2027 season short track national team second selection meet held Nov. 11 at Mokdong Ice Rink in Yangcheon District, Seoul. Choi Min-jeong secured the No. 1 overall ranking and earned national team status.
Choi Min-jeong, who announced she will retire from the national team after the 2026-2027 season, once again proved her overwhelming presence on the stage she herself designated as her "final season."
The 1,500m final that day was a race that highlighted Choi Min-jeong's race management skills. With 11 laps remaining in the middle of the race, Choi Min-jeong moved to the front and raised the pace, wearing down her competitors' stamina. On the final lap she succeeded in passing on the inside and crossed the finish line first in 2 minutes, 39.296 seconds.
The result was the same in the 500m that followed. Choi Min-jeong, who took the lead from the start, never gave up her position and delivered a perfect race with a time of 43.632 seconds.
Through this selection, including the first meet, Choi Min-jeong recorded 149 ranking points, leaving Shim Suk-hee (76 points) and Kim Min-ji (55 points) far behind and securing the overall No. 1 spot. Regardless of the remaining 1,000m result, Choi Min-jeong effectively secured a spot among the top two selected for the national team.
Even after announcing her Olympic retirement, Choi Min-jeong's form showed no sign of wavering. Her ability to control the flow of races and her late spurt remained among the world's best. Wearing the "last taegeuk mark," Choi Min-jeong promised a spectacular finish.
In the men's 1,500m, Shin Dong-min (Hwaseong City Hall) finished first in 2 minutes, 39.359 seconds. In the 500m, Lee Jeong-min (Seongnam City Hall) took the top spot in 40.980 seconds. World No. 1 Park Ji-won (Seoul City Hall) finished third.
Rim Jong-un (Goyang City Hall) and Kim Gil-li (Seongnam City Hall), who won two titles at the 2026 ISU World Championships, were automatically selected for the next season's national team under the rules.
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