Drunk Driving, Suspension, and Naturalization: Kim Min-seok’s Uneasy Run Under the Hungarian Flag [2026 Milan]

At the Milan Speed Skating Stadium in Italy on the 3rd (local time), an all-too-familiar face was gliding across the ice. But the emblem on his chest was no longer the Taegeukgi, the national flag of South Korea.
From "speed skating monster" to the face of a drunk-driving scandal, and now a member of the Hungarian national team, 26-year-old Kim Min-seok has stepped onto his third Olympic stage wearing a foreign uniform.
Call it a twist of fate. As Hungary’s only speed skater, he trained that day alongside the Korean national team. He circled the track among his former teammates, including Chung Jae-won and Park Ji-woo, yet the subtle tension in the air was unmistakable. Once hailed as the future of Korean speed skating, the former hero has returned as a complete outsider.
Kim Min-seok’s fall from grace has been more dramatic than a TV drama. At Pyeongchang 2018 and Beijing 2022, he won back-to-back medals in the 1500m, earning the title of Asia’s first medalist in the event. His path looked wide open. Then a drunk-driving accident at the Jincheon National Training Center in 2022 took everything away.
The punishment was severe, and reality was unforgiving. He was first suspended for 18 months, then hit with additional sanctions. In effect, his career in Korea was over. At that point, Hungary reached out, and he gave up the Taegeuk emblem, saying, "I just want to keep skating."

His path is often compared to that of short track skater Lin Xiaojun (Lim Hyo-jun), but there are clear differences. Lin Xiaojun left amid sexual harassment allegations and a long legal battle, drawing accusations that he had "fled" by changing nationality. Kim Min-seok, by contrast, is someone driven to the edge by his own undeniable mistake: drunk driving.
Perhaps for that reason, public sentiment toward him is tangled. Some criticize him harshly, saying, "He drove drunk and ran away to wash his image with a new nationality." Others express reluctant sympathy: "He must have been desperate. What a waste of talent." Aware of the controversy, Kim Min-seok declined interview requests, telling reporters, "I’ll talk after the races are over," and kept his lips tightly sealed.
Stripping away emotion and looking only at performance, the outlook is bleak. Kim Min-seok is entered in the 1000m and 1500m at these Games, but his World Cup circuit results this season have been dismal. His best finish was ninth; all his other races were outside the top ten.
He himself admitted, "I was too greedy. I overdid it." In trying out a new training method, he lost his balance, and although he hurried back to his old routine, there was not enough time. On top of that, the ice conditions in Milan, known for its soft ice, are another variable he has never experienced before.
Even so, Kim Min-seok conceded, "It would be a lie to say I don’t want a medal," as he placed his final bet on these Games.

This Olympics may turn out to be the cruelest stage of his career. If he wins a medal, he may still not be welcomed. If he fails, he is likely to fade away in silence.
Kim Min-seok has begun his run under the Hungarian flag. No one knows whether redemption or renewed condemnation awaits him at the finish line. For many Koreans watching, it is an uneasy race to witness.
jsi@fnnews.com Jeon Sang-il Reporter