Gold Medalists Say, "Please Replace Them"... Juni Kang Also Requests an Exchange—What Happened? [Nagoya AG]

[Financial News] Juni Kang, who won the first gold medal in the history of Korean skateboarding at the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya, held in 2026, has reportedly requested a medal replacement.
Juni Kang attended a gold medalists' press conference hosted by the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) at Korea House in Japan Live Nagoya on the 28th. He applied for a replacement after finding scratches on his medal.
This was not the first time a problem had been found with a Korean athlete's gold medal at these Games. Earlier, surface damage and scratches were found on the medals won in e-sports fighting games by Bae Jae-min, 41, in Tekken; Yeon Je-gil, 39, in Street Fighter; and Lee Gwang-no, 44, in The King of Fighters. The three athletes have already returned to South Korea, and the Korea e-Sports Association has asked the organizing committee to replace the medals and is awaiting a response.
The situation is the same for the Chinese delegation. According to Xinhua News Agency, a Chinese athlete who won a gold medal in e-sports on the 25th found discoloration and surface damage on the medal and asked the organizing committee for a replacement. The committee replaced the athlete's medal with a new one.
As medal-quality problems continued to emerge, a KSOC official said, "It is unfortunate that problems have occurred with our athletes' valuable gold medals. We cannot be sure whether they will actually be replaced. I have heard that athletes from other countries have also made many replacement requests."
Meanwhile, Juni Kang won the gold medal in the men's street final at the skateboarding competition held at Aichi Sky Expo Hall on the 27th, scoring 180.85 points overall. This was the first time in history that a Korean athlete, male or female, had won gold in the event.
Born in 2008, Juni Kang will receive the benefit of exemption from mandatory military service at the age of 18 after winning the gold medal at the Asian Games.
[email protected] Ahn Ga-eul Reporter