National Sports Festival wraps up in Jeju for first time in 12 years; Gyeonggi wins fifth straight title, Jeju takes 140 medals

【Financial News Jeju = Reporter Jung Yong-bok】 The 107th National Sports Festival, held in Jeju for the first time in 12 years, ended on the 22nd after seven days of competition. Gyeonggi Province won the overall title for the fifth consecutive year, while the Jeju team won 140 medals, including medals from demonstration events, its second-highest total ever.
According to Jeju Special Self-Governing Province and the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) on the 23rd, around 30,000 people, including delegations from the nation’s 17 cities and provinces and overseas Korean sports organizations, took part in the National Sports Festival, held across Jeju since the 16th, and competed in 50 sports.
Hosted by the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee and organized by Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, the Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Office of Education and the Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Sports Council, the festival was held in Jeju for the first time in 12 years, since the 95th National Sports Festival in 2014.

Gyeonggi Province won the overall title. It has topped the standings for five consecutive years since 2022, with North Gyeongsang Province and Seoul placing second and third, respectively. Jeju, the host, ranked 15th among the 17 cities and provinces.
The Jeju team won 140 medals in total: 32 gold, 45 silver and 63 bronze. The tally includes medals from demonstration events and exceeded its original target of 130. It was the second-highest medal total in the team’s history at the National Sports Festival.
Although it ranked 15th overall, the team took first place in the Achievement Award standings in recognition of its improved overall results compared with the previous year’s festival.

By sport, Jeju won 29 medals in swimming and 25 in judo. Diver Lee Ye-ju, a third-year student at Namnyeong High School, won four titles for the second consecutive year, and Yoo Seong-jin of the Jeju Swimming Federation also won four gold medals.
Cyclist Song Ha-bin, a third-year student at Yeongju High School, won three titles in the preliminary events and then added a silver medal in the individual road race. Choi Hyo-joo (Korean Air) in table tennis; divers Moon Na-yoon (Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Office) and Kang Ji-ho (a third-year student at Namnyeong High School); judoka Lee Jin-hyeok (a second-year student at Namnyeong High School); swimmer Lee Ju-ho (Seogwipo City Hall); and archers Seo Min-gi and Gu Bon-chan (both Hyundai Steel) each won two titles.
On the final day of the festival, Hyundai Steel’s archery team won the men’s general-division recurve team event, and Lee Min-ho of the Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Office won gold in the men’s general-division Greco-Roman 97-kilogram category.

Yeo Seo-jeong of Jecheon City Hall, who won four gold medals, one silver and one bronze in gymnastics, was named the festival’s Most Valuable Player (MVP). It is the first time since 2012—a span of 14 years—that a gymnast has been named National Sports Festival MVP.
Around 3,000 people attended the closing ceremony at Jeju World Cup Stadium, including Jeju Governor Wi Seong-gon, Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Council Chair Song Young-houn, Jeju Superintendent of Education Go Ui-suk, Korean Sport & Olympic Committee President Ryu Seung-min and Jeju Sports Council President Shin Jin-seong.
Performances by Jeju artists, the overall awards ceremony and a video featuring key moments from the festival followed under the theme “Memories of the Wind.” The Games flag was handed to Gyeonggi Province, next year’s host. The festival concluded as the torch was extinguished, following farewell remarks by Governor Wi Seong-gon and a closing declaration by Superintendent Go Ui-suk.

Around 8,300 people, including volunteers and resident supporters, took part in the festival. A program offering digital admission tickets and the local currency “Tamna Jeon” was also run to link visits to competition venues with spending in the local community. About 22,000 digital tickets were issued.
Jeju plans to use the competition venues upgraded in preparation for the National Sports Festival for next year’s 56th National Junior Sports Festival and National Sports Festival for Students with Disabilities, both to be held in Jeju.
“I hope the passion and emotion experienced in Jeju will continue at the next Games,” Jeju Governor Wi Seong-gon said. “Taking this festival as an opportunity, Jeju will move forward as a ‘city of sports festivals’ that grows alongside sports.”

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