South Korea (officially the Republic of Korea) competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from July 27 to August 12, 2012. This was the nation's sixteenth appearance at the Olympics, having missed the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow because of its support for the United States boycott. The Korean Olympic Committee sent the nation's smallest delegation to the Games since 1992. A total of 248 athletes, 135 men and 113 women, competed in 22 sports.
South Korea left London with a total of 30 medals (13 gold, 9 silver, and 8 bronze), finishing fifth in the medal standings and tying its record for the most gold medals won at an Olympics with the total it set at Beijing. Six of these medals were awarded to the team in fencing, five in shooting, four in archery, and three in judo. South Korean athletes dominated in archery, where they won gold medals in all but one sporting events and broke two world records. Despite the absence of baseball and softball at the Olympics, South Korea's team-based athletes proved successful in London, as the men's football team won the bronze medal against neighbouring Japan. For the first time in its history, South Korea won Olympic medals in team fencing.
Among the nation's medalists were pistol shooter Jin Jong-oh, and taekwondo jin Hwang Kyung-seon, who both successfully defended their Olympic titles from Beijing. Three South Korean athletes won Olympic gold medals for the first time in history: gymnast Yang Hak-seon in the men's vault exercises, archer Oh Jin-hyek in the men's individual event, and sabre fencer Kim Ji-yeon in the women's individual event. Park Tae-hwan, who won two silver medals in London, emerged as the most successful South Korean swimmer in history, with a total of four Olympic medals.
Medalists
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Delegation
The Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) selected a team of 245 athletes, 133 men and 112 women, to compete in 24 sports; it was the nation's smallest team sent to the Olympics since 1992. South Korea did not qualify athletes in basketball, canoeing, equestrian, and tennis. There was only a single competitor in rhythmic gymnastics, and in triathlon.
The South Korean team featured nine defending champions from Beijing, including freestyle swimmer Park Tae-hwan, the men's archery team (led by Im Dong-hyun), pistol shooter Jin Jong-oh, weightlifters Jang Mi-ran and Sa Jae-hyouk, and taekwondo jins Hwang Kyung-seon and Cha Dong-min. Among these champions, Jin Jong-oh only managed to defend his Olympic title for the second consecutive time. Handball player Yoon Kyung-shin, who competed at his fifth Olympics since 1992 (except the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, where his team did not qualify), was the oldest athlete of the team, at age 39, and later became South Korea's flag bearer at the opening ceremony. Platform diver Kim Su-ji, on the other hand, was the youngest of the team, at age 14.
Other notable South Korean athletes featured judoka and top medal contenders Wang Ki-chun and Kim Jae-bum, foil fencer and Olympic silver medalist Nam Hyun-hee, and butterfly swimmer and Youth Olympic gold medalist Chang Gyu-cheol.
The following table lists the number of South Korean competitors who participated in each Olympic sport. Note that swimming, synchronized swimming, diving and water polo are technically considered as one sport, aquatics. However, due to their significant practical differences, they are listed separately by tradition.
Archery
South Korea has qualified three archers for the men's individual event, three archers for the women's individual event, a team for the men's team event and a team for the women's team event
Men
Women
Athletics
South Korean athletes have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event at the 'A' Standard, and 1 at the 'B' Standard):
Men
Track & road events
Field events
Women
Track & road events
Field events
Badminton
Men
Women
Mixed
Boxing
South Korea has so far qualified in the following events.
Men
Cycling
Road
Track
Sprint
Team sprint
Pursuit
Keirin
Omnium
Diving
Men
Women
Fencing
South Korea has qualified 14 fencers. Men
Women
Field hockey
The South Korean women's hockey team have qualified a team of 16 players for the games by virtue of being runner-up at the 2010 Asian Games hockey tournament.