'Lin Xiaojun' Im Hyojun, First Message After Naturalization in China: "I Will Strive to Win Medals for China"

Short track Olympic gold medalist Lim Hyo-jun (Chinese name Lin Shaojun), who naturalized as a Chinese citizen, is speaking out for the first time since his naturalization.
[Photo by Lim Hyo-jun, social media (SNS) capture]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seoyoung Kwon] Short track Olympic gold medalist Lim Hyo-jun (26, Chinese name Lin Xiaojun), who naturalized to China, has spoken out for the first time since his naturalization.

On the 29th, Lim Hyo-jun shared an update in both Chinese and Korean on his social media. He said, "It has been 11 months since I came to China, and everyone has treated me well," "I will not be participating in this Olympics, but there will be many opportunities ahead," and expressed his feelings, "I will work hard to win many medals for China."

Previously, Lim won the gold medal in the men's 1500m and the bronze medal in the men's 500m short track events at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. However, in June 2019, during national team training, he played a prank by pulling down the pants of a junior teammate of the same sex, for which he received a one-year suspension from the Korea Skating Union.

Afterwards, he was acquitted in court regarding allegations of sexual assault, but later announced his intention to participate in the Beijing Winter Olympics and chose to naturalize to China. However, according to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Olympic Charter, which states that "an athlete who changes nationality must wait three years after competing for the previous country in an international competition" before participating in the Olympics, his Olympic participation was canceled.

Recently, regardless of Olympic participation, he also competed in the Chinese national team selection trials. However, he did not place within the top three in any event and thus has not qualified for the Chinese national team.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.