Lee Kang-Seok

Who is Lee Kang-Seok?

Lee Kang-seok is a South Korean speed skater. He is the 2007 and 2009 World Champion for 500 m. At the 2006 Winter Olympics, he won a bronze medal in the 500 m. He is the second South Korean person to win a medal in an event outside of short track speedskating, and he has become a representative to show that South Korea is expanding towards cultivating their athletes to excel in sports other than short track speed skating.

On 5 March 2006, Lee won his first World Cup title, winning the 2005–06 World Cup on the 500 m. A year later, Lee won gold at the World Single Distance Championships in the Utah Olympic Oval, setting a world record time of 34.25 seconds in the second race. The record has been broken since then by Jeremy Wotherspoon on 9 November 2007, with a time of 34.03 seconds. At the 2009 Winter Universiade in Harbin, China, Lee won the 500 m, beating Yu Fengtong with times of 35.00 and 34.82.