South Korea's national squad will compete at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games with a goal of finishing third in the overall medal table.
The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee held the send-off ceremony for the national delegation at the velodrome of the Jincheon National Training Center in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province, on the 3rd, where officials and athletes shared that goal and pledged a strong showing.
About 800 people attended the ceremony, including Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Choi Hwi-young, Korean Sport & Olympic Committee President Yoo Seung-min, delegation head Lee Sang-hyun, International Olympic Committee (IOC) Athletes' Commission member Won Yun-jong, and officials from the committee and individual sports federations along with athlete representatives.
In a congratulatory message read on his behalf by Choi, President Lee Jae-myung said the Games would serve as an occasion to gauge where Asian sport stands, "from disciplines with long histories and traditions to e-sports, which represents a new era." He urged the athletes to "trust the sweat you have shed so far and show everything you have honed, all the way to the end."
The Games run from the 19th through October 4 in Aichi Prefecture and the city of Nagoya in Japan. About 15,000 athletes from 46 countries and territories will compete for 469 gold medals across 43 sports.
South Korea is sending 1,052 athletes and officials to compete in 41 of the 43 sports, skipping only cricket and padel. The lineup spans sports with strong domestic followings such as football and baseball as well as newer events including e-sports and virtual taekwondo, the largest number of sports the country has ever entered at an Asian Games. South Korea is aiming for 40 to 45 gold medals and third place in the overall standings. The main delegation departs on the 17th and returns October 5.
