South Korea awarded automatic Winter Olympics berth in 2018

The International Ice Hockey Federation had been keen for South Korea to compete at their home Olympics but were wary of the potential for the kind of lopsided losses that would embarrass the hosts and damage the sport's reputation.

However, with the promise of financial backing, and after the Korean Ice Hockey Association presented details of a four-year plan on how it would develop the game, the IIHF decided to grant them automatic spots in four years' time.

South Korea's head coach Jim Paek was thrilled with the decision but said it was just the first step towards doing the country proud in Pyeongchang.

"When the decision came down it was a feeling that I can't really describe," he told Reuters by telephone on Friday from the IIHF's semi-annual congress in Spain. "It was a sense of, this is what we've been working towards.

"The Korea front office worked really hard to follow the IIHF's rules and regulations, to prepare all the necessary documents, to do whatever needed to be done. It's fantastic news."

South Korea enjoys regular success at the Winter Games in short track and speed skating but few had even dared to dream of facing ice hockey powerhouses such as Canada, United States and Sweden on Olympic ice.

Paek, who left Seoul when he was one-year-old and grew up in Canada, was the first Korean to play in the NHL and the only one to have won the Stanley Cup, lifting ice hockey's biggest prize with Mario Lemieux's Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991 and 1992.

He was named national coach of Korea in July, tasked with getting the team to Pyeongchang and building an ice hockey programme from the ground up.

But with few facilities to groom talent and a nationwide pool of just 60 professional players to choose from, the task of turning Korea into an ice hockey force is a daunting one.

Paek said that with the qualification hurdle out of the way, the onus was now on him and the team to deliver.

"Now it's up to us. Now we have our destiny in our own hands and that is great," he added.

IIHF President Rene Fasel said South Korea had shown it had the proper plans in place, as well as the ambition, to continue its ice hockey development and to be competitive in Pyeongchang.

"After careful deliberation and discussions with the IOC and the Korea Ice Hockey Association, we have decided to grant an automatic qualification to the men's and women's national teams for Pyeongchang 2018," Fasel said on the IIHF's website.

"The IIHF is confident that, given the sizeable investment into the men's and women's programs, along with the changes in the KIHA's structure and operations, Korea should have a chance to show the world it is capable of competing at the highest level of international hockey."