The Winter Olympic team has returned home after finishing in the top ten for the first time in eight years.

On Tuesday afternoon, some 70 athletes and staff arrived in Incheon International Airport, where more than 100 reporters and some 500 of the team's relatives and fans waited.

The team won six gold, three silver and two bronze medals in finishing seventh in the Turin Winter Games.

After a news conference at the airport, members attended the disbanding ceremony with ruling Uri Party Chairman Chung Dong-young and Deputy Culture and Tourism Minister Lee Bo-kyung.

The ceremony featured a national flag salute and the presentation of flowers to the team.

In his welcoming speech, Korea Olympic Committee President Kim Jung-kil said that through first-class sports diplomacy, the team has helped to improve the nation's tainted image.

Chung, meanwhile, said the athletes have given their country a sense of pride in besting the most populous nation China, which finished 14th, and the world's second-largest economy Japan, which ended up 18th.