Canadian national Quan Yeh applies for special naturalization after being recommended by the Korean Sports Federation
"Harbin AG-Milan Olympics, Taeguk-marked and best performance yet"
Figure skating ice dancers Lim Hae-na (19) and Quan Ye (22) are seeking special naturalization to compete at the 2025 Harbin Winter Asian Games and the 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics.
"We submitted the relevant documents to the Ministry of Justice on the 1st of this month," Quan Ye said after the 2024-2025 National Team Primary Selection and 2023 KB Financial National Men's and Women's Figure Skating Chairman's Ranking Competition at the Uijeongbu Indoor Ice Center in Gyeonggi-do, Gyeonggi-do. "If the special naturalization is approved, we will do our best to perform at the Harbin Asian Games and the Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics under the Korean flag."
Quan Yeh is paired with fellow Korean-Canadian dual citizen Lim Hae-na, who has achieved a number of successes for South Korea in International Ice Skating Union (ISU) competitions.
They became the first Asian pair to win a medal at the ISU World Junior Championships in March, finishing second.
However, they will not be able to compete at the Asian Games and Olympic Games due to the rule that competitors must be of the same nationality.
In ISU-organized figure pairs and ice dancing, either of the two athletes in a pair can compete under the nationality of the other, but in the Olympic Games, which are organized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the nationality of the athlete and the nationality of the team must be the same.
In response, the KOC pushed for the special naturalization of Canadian national Quan Ye, who was recently selected as a special naturalization candidate by the Sports Fairness Committee of the Korean Olympic Committee.
After completing the review, the Ministry of Justice will hold a nationality review committee to discuss the special naturalization proposal and conduct interviews and other procedures. 바카라사이트
Quan Yeh has been making great efforts to obtain South Korean citizenship. Recently, she has been studying Korean language and culture at a university in Montreal, Canada, where she lives.
"I'm working hard to learn Korean language and culture," she said, "and I want to compete as a Korean athlete on the international stage with Lim Hae-na."
There are many examples of Korean athletes competing in the Olympics through special naturalization.
At the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Alexander Gemerlin, who gained Korean citizenship through a special naturalization process, competed alongside Min Yura.
"If Quan Yeh's special naturalization is approved, she will be able to compete in the Olympic team events," said an official from the Korean Ice and Snow Sports Federation. "We hope she will have a good result."
Meanwhile, Lim Hae-na and Quan Ye-jo competed in the only ice dance event of the Games, earning a total score of 177.21 points. The pair qualified for the ISU Four Continents Championships.