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North Korean figure skaters Ryom Tae-ok and Kim Ju-sik compete in the 2017 Nebelhorn Trophy event held in Oberstdorf, Germany on Sept. 29. The pair took sixth place and qualified for the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, but their qualification status went to the Japanese team late last year after Ryom and Kim failed to declare their intent to participate. (AFP/Yonhap News)
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IOC or International Skating Union seen as likely to grant North Korean skaters permission to compete in pairs events
Gangwon Gov. Choi Moon-soon stated on the CBS program “Kim Hyeon-jeong’s News Show” on Jan. 2 that South and North Korea could compete as a unified team in the team figure skating event at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. “There are four components to the figure skating team event at the Pyeongchang Olympics: men’s singles, ladies’ singles, pairs, and ice dancing,” Moon explained that day. “But while South Korea has [athletes competing in] men’s singles, ladies’ singles, and ice dancing, it doesn’t have any in pairs. So all we would need is for North Korea to participate [with the pairs team of Ryom Tae-ok and Kim Ju-sik],” he added. “As it happens, the North has the one thing we don’t. So we could have a single team participating in the figure skating team event under the Korean Peninsula flag,” Moon continued. In order, the eleven countries currently on the IOC’s preliminary entry list for the figure skating team event are Canada, Russia, the US, Japan, China, Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Israel, and South Korea. Team event eligibility is granted to ten countries eligible to compete individually in three of the four events of men’s singles, women’s singles, pairs, and ice dancing. Spain, which was originally ineligible after failing to qualify in two categories (women’s singles and pairs), currently stands in ninth place on the preliminary rankings. If it fails to secure additional qualification in pairs or another event, South Korea would be able to participate in the team competition in tenth place. In this case, the North Korea pair figure skating team of Ryom and Kim could simply join the roster. Qualification status went to first-ranked standby candidate Japan late last year after Ryom and Kim failed to declare their intent to compete in the Olympics. But the IOC or International Skating Union (ISU) are seen as very likely to grant Ryom and Kim a wild card to compete in the pairs event. A unified Korean team could also be formed for the team event with ISU support and discussions between authorities on both sides. At the same time, it’s an arrangement that deals a blow to South Korean athletes Kim Kyu-eun and Alex Kang-chan Kam, who would be eligible to compete in the pairs component of the team event under host country eligibility. “A unified team isn’t something we can speak about as a union,” a Korea Skating Union source said. In a Jan. 2 interview with “Inside the Games,” spokesperson Mark Adams said the IOC would “consider the comments of the North Korean leadership with regard to participation in the Olympic Winter Games in an open way.” In a New Year’s message posted the same day on the IOC website, committee president Thomas Bach said, “We know about the political tensions on the Korean Peninsula. The IOC has addressed them already since 2015.” “We feel support for our position that the Olympic Games must always be beyond all political division. . . . They are a symbol of hope and peace,” he continued. Choi noted that figure skating is “popular enough that all of the tickets have already sold out.” “If a North Korean cheering squad participated and a South Korean cultural performance group joins in, we may be able to have a very interesting event,” he suggested. Choi also noted that North Korea “could receive wild cards in short-track [speed skating] and cross-country.” Choi has previously made several efforts to encourage North Korea’s participation in the Pyeongchang Olympics, including a meeting with North Korea’s April 25 Sports Club president Mun Ung during the Ari Sports Cup 15-and-under international youth football championship in Kunming on Dec. 19–22. By Kim Chang-keum, staff writer and Park Soo-hyuk, Gangwon correspondent Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]
