Short track speed skating at the 2002 Winter Olympics – Men's 1500 metres

Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows:[2]

World record	Apolo Anton Ohno (USA)	2:13.728	Kearns, United States	15 December 2001
Olympic record	None	None	None	None

The following new Olympic records were set during this competition.

Date	Round	Team	Time	OR	WR
13 February	Heat 5	Guo Wei (CHN)	2:18.846	OR
16 February	Semifinal 1	Mathieu Turcotte (CAN)	2:15.942	OR

Kim's disqualification was heavily criticized by many. The controversy was rooted in the final lap of the face. With Kim in first, Ohno attempted to make a pass on Kim, who then drifted slightly inward. Ohno raised his hands up in protest, claiming that this was an illegal blocking move. After the race finished, this moment was reviewed and the refs came to the same conclusion, costing Kim the gold medal. Kim, furious, threw the flag down and the South Korean team was equally upset. Many commented that the refs made an unusually harsh decision in calling the move in question a block. South Korea threatened to boycott the closing ceremony.

Criticism was also focused on Ohno for embellishing the seriousness of the block as well as on the refs for favoring the hometown American skater. Ohno's reaction was mocked by many in South Korea, and it continued on into the World Cup when some South Korean footballers imitated it after scoring a goal against the United States in the group stage. The game ended in a 1-1 draw.