Lee Kang-seok

Lee Kang-seok (, born 28 February 1985) is a South Korean speed skater. He is the 2007 and 2009 World Champion for 500 m. At the 2006 Winter Olympics, he won a bronze medal in the 500 m. He is the second South Korean person to win a medal in an event outside of short track speedskating, and he has become a representative to show that South Korea is expanding towards cultivating their athletes to excel in sports other than short track speed skating.

On 5 March 2006, Lee won his first World Cup title, winning the 2005–06 World Cup on the 500 m. A year later, Lee won gold at the World Single Distance Championships in the Utah Olympic Oval, setting a world record time of 34.25 seconds in the second race. The record has been broken since then by Jeremy Wotherspoon on 9 November 2007, with a time of 34.03 seconds. At the 2009 Winter Universiade in Harbin, China, Lee won the 500 m, beating Yu Fengtong with times of 35.00 and 34.82.

Controversies Lee had his South Korean driving license revoked for driving while intoxicated on 16 June 2012. He had a blood alcohol content of 0.12%.

World record

Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com