Speed skater Lee Kang-suk has set a fresh world record in the 500m event at the world championships in Salt Lake City, the United States.

In the 500-meter male speed skating competition on Saturday, Lee completed the first and second races in a record 68.69 seconds in total, breaking the previous world record of 68.96 seconds.

This is the second time ever for a Korean speed skater to set a world record, after Lee Kyu-hyuk recorded the fastest time ever for the men's 1,500-meter event in 2001.

Meanwhile, female Korean skaters Jeong Eun-ju, Jin Sun-yu and Byun Chun-sa on Saturday swept the top three spots in the 1,500-meter short track event at the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Milan, Italy.

In the men’s 1,500-meter short track event, Ahn Hyun-soo came in third after U.S. skater Apolo Anton Ohno and Italy’s Nicola Rodigari.