Kim Min-seok, a three-time Olympic speed skating medalist born in South Korea, has become a Hungarian citizen.

The Hungarian National Skating Association recently announced that Kim, 25, will now be called Oliver while representing the European country. Another South Korean-born skater, Moon Won-jun, also switched allegiance.

Kim had been a rising star in South Korean speed skating, having bagged silver in the men’s team pursuit at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics and grabbed two straight bronze medals in the men’s 1,500 meters in 2018 and 2022.

However, Kim’s career hit a snag in August 2022, when he was slapped with a lengthy suspension following a drunk driving accident inside the national team training center.

The Korea Skating Union suspended him for 18 months. Separately, a court ordered Kim to pay a fine of 4 million won (US$2,900) in May 2023, which led the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee to ban him from the national team selection for two years.

With his national team ban set to end in
May 2025, Kim could have prepared for the national team trials in the fall of 2025, with a spot on the 2026 Olympic squad up for grabs.

However, Kim had been without a club since his contract with Seongnam City Hall expired in December last year. Kim then received an offer from Lee Chul-won, a South Korean-born coach for the Hungarian national team, for naturalization earlier this year.

Kim told the Hungarian association that he wanted to find an opportunity to train consistently and prepare for the 2026 Olympics.

Kim also said he didn’t want to make excuses about the drunk driving case and vowed it will not happen again.

Hungary is hoping that Kim and Moon will fill the void left by the departure of the Liu brothers, Shaolin Sandor and Shaoang, who changed their nationality to Chinese, after their father, in late 2022. The brothers teamed up for the men’s 5,000m relay gold medal for Hungary at the 2018 Olympics.

Source: Yonhap News Agency