BEIJING-- South Korea switched one of its flag bearers for the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics on Monday, four days before the event.
The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) announced female short track speed skater Kim A-lang will replace speed skater Kim Min-sun. Kwak Yoon-gy will stay put as the male flag bearer.
The KSOC said Kim Min-sun had asked to be replaced after her initial announcement last Friday but provided no further details.
The 22-year-old will be making her second Winter Olympics appearance. She finished 16th in the women's 500 meters in PyeongChang, two years after winning the Winter Youth Olympics gold in the same distance.
Kim A-lang has won the women's 3,000m relay gold medal at each of the past two Olympics. Beijing will be the third Winter Games for the 26-year-old.
Kwak, 32, won a relay silver medal at Vancouver 2010 and after missing out on the Sochi Games in 2014 with injuries, Kwak returned to the ice for PyeongChang 2018. This will be Kwak's third and final Olympics.
Source: Yonhap News Agency