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Kim Yuna in Love

March 6, 2014

Korean figure skating icon’s agency confirms Dispatch report

Kim Yuna's camp confirmed that she's been dating an ice hockey player Kim Won-jung, right. (Yonhap)

It is unclear when exactly they started dating, but both of them graduated from Korea University. (Yonhap)

Kim Yuna, 23, who won a silver medal at the Sochi Olympics after a performance many believed deserved the gold, had been dating Korean ice hockey player Kim Won-jung, 29, her agency All That Sports confirmed Thursday.

According to Dispatch, the online news website that first reported the story hours before the announcement by the agency, Kim has been in a romantic relationship with the Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps (Daemyung Sangmu) player for almost two years. The media outlet revealed some pictures of them holding hands (http://www.dispatch.co.kr/r.dp?idx=30726).

A Dispatch reporter Na Ji-yeon said that Dispatch got the first picture of them walking together on last Sept. 5, Kim Yuna’s birthday.

Na said she became certain about their relationship after they continued to meet important days such as Kim Won-jung’s birth day on Dec. 19 and Christmas eve.

It is perhaps Korea’s poor conditions for winter athletes that tied them together. According to the Dispatch report, they naturally became close at the Taereung National Training Center where short track skaters, figure skaters and ice hockey players share its only ice rink.

After announcing that she would compete for the 2012-2013 season with the ultimate goal of skating at the Sochi Games, Kim Yuna returned to the training center in July. Kim Won-jung came there as he joined the national team in September. Dispatch believes their relationship started before they met there but they got closer as they stayed close together at the venue.

It is unclear when exactly they started dating. Both of them graduated from Korea University.

While Kim Yuna prepared for the Sochi Games, Kim Won-jung practiced at the training center with the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics in mind. They supported each other in the process, Dispatch said.

In Sochi, Russia’s Adelina Sotnikova controversially defeated Kim Yuna despite some mistakes in her performance. But Kim handled the issue with class, saying the gold just went to “who wanted it more.”

Kim Won-jung, who has been serving his mandatory military duty since Dec. 10 in 2012, will be discharged from it on this Sept. 9. Competing at the Astana-Almaty Asian Winter Games in 2011 as forward, he led Korea to win the bronze, with Kazakhstan and Japan taking the gold and silver respectively.