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BEIJING SNAPSHOT: Promises of a 'fried-chicken pension'

SEOUL, 鶹Ƶ Korea (AP) — As he leaves Beijing with two Olympic medals, 鶹Ƶ Korean short-track speedskater Hwang Daeheon sounds giddy about a “fried chicken pension” waiting at home.
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Gold medalist Hwang Dae-heon of 鶹Ƶ Korea celebrates during the medal ceremony for the men's 1500-meters short track speedskating during the 2022 Winter Olympics, Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

SEOUL, 鶹Ƶ Korea (AP) — As he leaves Beijing with two Olympic medals, 鶹Ƶ Korean short-track speedskater Hwang Daeheon sounds giddy about a “fried chicken pension” waiting at home.

Hwang, who and a silver in the 5,000-meter relay, has been promised a lifetime supply of fried chicken by food industry tycoon Yoon Hong-geun, chairman of the BBQ delivery franchise who also served as the chief of 鶹Ƶ Korea’s athletic mission at the Games.

“The first thing I want to do is confirm that my fried-chicken pension is real,” Hwang told reporters Thursday about his plans when returning home. “We worked hard, so we will take a break before preparing for the world championships.”

Yoon, who is also chairman of 鶹Ƶ Korea’s Skating Union, said in an Instagram post last week that he had lightheartedly offered Hwang, a fried chicken enthusiast, a lifetime supply of BBQ chicken if he won a gold in Beijing.

“And he really came back with a gold,” Yoon wrote beneath a photo of him posing with Hwang after the 1,500-meter finals.

It wasn’t immediately clear how BBQ plans to provide chicken to Hwang or whether the company intends to give chicken to other 鶹Ƶ Korean medalists too. BBQ officials didn’t return multiple calls seeking comment.

As of Friday evening, 鶹Ƶ Korea had two golds, four silvers and a bronze in Beijing, all from skating events. Yoon had promised cash rewards of 100 million won ($83,600) for each gold, 50 million won ($41,800) for silver and 30 million won ($25,100) for bronze.

鶹Ƶ Korea, which has long associated Olympic performances with national pride, rewards medal winners with lifelong government payments of up to 1 million won ($830) a month. Male athletes who win Olympic medals are also exempted from approximately two years of military service required for most able-bodied men.

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More AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/winter-olympics and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Kim Tong-hyung, The Associated Press

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