"Does a 10-Billion-Won Apartment Risk Its Life to Spin 900 Degrees?" The Truth Behind the "Brutal Steel Rod" in Choi Ga-on’s Spine [2026 Milan]

[Financial News] Choi Ga-on (18, Sehwa Girls’ High School) has become the first South Korean athlete ever to win a gold medal in a snow event at the 2026 Milan–Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics. Recently, however, her name has been followed less by words of glory and more by unexpected labels like "15-billion-won apartment" and "gold spoon."
After a banner hung by residents at the luxury apartment complex where she is said to live went viral, some people tried to belittle her achievement, claiming it was "the result of massive financial backing." Yet behind the dazzling spotlight and the eye-popping real estate controversy lies the brutal struggle of an 18-year-old girl who had a thick steel rod driven into her spine and still hurled herself off a 7-meter wall of ice.
Among snowboard fans, it is not the apartment banner but an old X-ray image of Choi Ga-on that has resurfaced and left many in solemn silence.
In the X-ray, several large, sharp metal screws and rods are fixed along her spine to hold the bones in place. Snowboard halfpipe is an extreme sport in which athletes perform somersaults from a height equivalent to a third-floor apartment, with nothing but their bodies and boards.
In 2024, Choi suffered a severe spinal injury and had to undergo major surgery that put her entire career on the line.
If she had truly been, as some online commenters claim, a "greenhouse flower" who could solve everything with money, her story might have been very different. At the time, she and her family struggled to cover the 70 million won in surgery and treatment costs, and it was Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin who stepped in to pay the full amount. That episode alone shows she did not reach this stage simply because she was born into wealth.
Even online commenters, after seeing that X-ray, have written, "Regardless of age, she deserves respect," and, "That gold medal was literally carved out of her body," unable to hide their admiration.

Choi Ga-on’s true value lay not in money, but in the fighting spirit she displayed on the Olympic final stage.
In her first run of the final, Choi lost her balance after her second jump and slammed her head and lower back hard onto the ice. Medical staff rushed in, and she lay on the ground for a while, unable to get up. She later confessed, "I fell and just cried my eyes out up there. I honestly thought I might have to end my Olympics right then and there."
For a moment, the scoreboard even showed "DNS" (Did Not Start), indicating a possible withdrawal, but she refused to give up. Encouraged by her father’s words, "Just don’t give up," Choi returned to the start gate and produced a miracle in her final third run.
She delivered a flawless performance, combining overwhelming height with a perfect 900-degree spin followed by a 720-degree rotation.
Even National Broadcasting Company (NBC), the U.S. host broadcaster, selected this moment as one of the "Top 10 Stories" of the first half of the Games, noting, "The only athlete who stopped Chloe Kim from winning a third straight Olympic title was a 17-year-old from South Korea. The student has surpassed the master."


In an interview right after her victory, Choi explained the secret behind her dramatic comeback, saying, "Every time my knees felt like they were about to give out, I gritted my teeth and held on. It was thanks to the stubborn grit that kicks in whenever I fall."
Snowboard halfpipe is not a sport where points are awarded based on how much capital you have. A 15-billion-won apartment does not spin 900 degrees in midair on your behalf.
The only thing that pierced through fear and launched 7 meters into the sky was Choi Ga-on’s blood, sweat, and tears—and the sheer determination that refused to quit even with a steel rod in her spine.
What a national team athlete, wearing the Taegeuk mark and standing at the very top of the world, needs now is not shallow curiosity or jealousy about where she lives.
She deserves wholehearted applause and respect as an 18-year-old who overcame brutal injuries and wrote a new chapter in history.
jsi@fnnews.com Jeon Sang-il Reporter