Korea's Freestyle Ski Star Lee Seung-hoon Eyes Olympic Medal

The spotlight at Winter Olympics has traditionally focused on Korean speed skating. The Milano Cortina 2026 Games tell a different story. Snowboarding's gold, silver, and bronze medals have delivered a powerful message: Korea can compete in snow sports too.

At Livigno Snow Park in Italy on Feb. 19 (Korea time), freestyle skiing is poised to continue snowboarding's medal momentum. Lee Seung-hoon, 21, of Lotte Ski & Snowboard Team, Korea's top freestyle skier, will compete in the men's halfpipe qualifying round at 6:30 p.m. The top 12 of 25 competitors based on their best score from two runs advance to the final.

Snow sports, long overshadowed by skating, are leading Korea's medal charge at these Games. Kim Sang-kyum, 37, of High1, claimed silver in men's parallel giant slalom for Korea's first medal. Yoo Seung-eun, 18, of Sungbok High School, won bronze in women's big air. Choi Ga-on, 18, of Sehwa Girls' High School, captured gold in women's halfpipe—Korea's first-ever gold in snow sports and first gold of these Games. This medal relay naturally draws attention to freestyle skiing "pioneer" Lee Seung-hoon.

Freestyle skiing features aerial rotations, jumps, and technical maneuvers on skis, with judges determining rankings. Disciplines include halfpipe, performed on tilted half-cylinder walls, and big air, scored on a single jump from a large ramp. Lee competes in nearly identical events as Choi Ga-on but on skis instead of a snowboard.

Lee is Korea's leading prospect in halfpipe. He first wore the national team uniform at age 15 in 2020 and has since accumulated "Korea's first" titles at major international events. He won silver at the 2021 FIS Junior World Championships—Korea's best-ever result—and finished 16th in qualifying at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. In February 2024, he became the first Korean to win a World Cup medal with bronze. Last February, he won Korea's first-ever freestyle skiing gold at the Harbin Asian Winter Games, proving his competitiveness at the senior level.

Lee's secret weapon at these Games is the double cork 1800. This builds on his signature double cork 1620—an extremely difficult trick involving four-and-a-half rotations while switching axes twice—by adding another half rotation. Only a handful of athletes worldwide have landed the double cork 1620, but Lee plans to attempt the even harder 1800 to secure a medal.

Moon Hee-sung, 20, of Korea National Sport University, bronze medalist at the Harbin Asian Winter Games, will make his Olympic debut in the same event. Lee's younger sister Lee So-young, 18, of Sangdong High School, competes in women's freestyle ski halfpipe qualifying at 3:30 a.m. on Feb. 20.