South Korea's "signature" athlete Choi Min-jung presented the Korean team with the first gold medal at the 2025 International Skating Union (ISU) Short Track Speed Skating Championships. On the 16th, in the women's 1500m final of the 2025 ISU Short Track Speed Skating World Championships held at the Capital Gymnasium in Beijing, Cui Minjing crossed the finish line first with a time of 2:27.136.

Choi Min-jeong, who is happy to win the championship

With the day's victory, Choi Minjing became the only member of the Korean short track team to get a taste of the "golden speed" of this competition, and she also automatically entered the 2025-2026 Korean women's short track team, and locked the right to participate in the 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics in advance.

Another Korean star who reached the final of the event was Kim Ji-ri in 2:27.257, finishing third behind Canada's Salotte and winning the bronze medal.

Cui Minjing of Mercedes-Benz (far left)

South Korean media said after the game on the 16th that the South Korean short track women's team established self-esteem with Choi Minjing's gold medal, but Zhang Chengyu, Kim Jianyu, and Park Jiwon failed to enter the final in the men's 1000m semifinals on the same day, and the men's team "no medals in individual battles" at this World Championships, leaving regrets.

At the 2025 Harbin Asian Winter Games, the South Korean team has a record of 6 golds, 4 silvers and 3 bronzes, but only won 1 gold and 2 bronzes at this World Championships. It is reported that South Korean short track athletes, including Kim Ji-ri, who failed to win the gold medal at this World Championships, will go through the 1~2 rounds of national representative trials scheduled to be held in April to challenge for the national team quota and the qualification for next year's Winter Olympics.

Choi Min-jung (middle) and Kim Ji-ri (far right) attending the award ceremony

The Korea Skating Association will select eight men and eight women from each team at the Korean Short Track National Trials in April, with the top five men and women in the trials going on the stage at next year's Winter Olympics. Choi Min-jeong passed the representative selection tournament ahead of schedule with the gold medal of the World Championships.

The South Korean team, which failed to win a medal on the 15th, won the gold and bronze medals in the women's 1500m race where Choi Min-jung and Kim Ji-ri were on the 16th, getting rid of the embarrassment of not having a medal. The South Korean men's team won the bronze medal in the final 5000m relay final, the last event of this World Championships, barely saving a trace of face.

Choi Min-jung cheering after the championship was confirmed

Cui Minjing did not win anything in the women's 1000m final of this World Championships held on the 15th, and entered the 1500m final with regret. In the final, Choi Min-jeong and Kim Ji-ri, who were behind at the start, picked up the pace with eight laps left, and Choi Min-jung took the lead. Choi Min-jeong was temporarily squeezed out of first place by Salotte in the second half of the race, and sprinted with four laps left to regain first place, and Kim Jiri also jumped up to third place with some competitors in the scuffle.

With the last lap remaining, Choi Min-jeong took advantage of her speed to retain the top spot, and Kim Ji-ri took the bronze medal. Choi Min-jeong, who competed in the women's 500m semi-finals, finished third in Group 2 and failed to reach the final, missing out on the chance to add a medal.

The South Korean team of Park Ji-won, Jang Sung-woo, Kim Jian-woo and Lee Jung-so crossed the finish line in the men's 5,000m relay with a time of 6:41.92, finishing bronze after Canada (6:41.271) and China (6:41.840).