President Moon Jae-in sent a congratulatory message to each of the five members of South Korea's women's short track skating team on Wednesday, one day after the team won the gold medal in the women's 3,000 meter relay.

"I congratulate the women's short track team on winning gold in the 3,000m relay," the president said, according to copies of his letters released by the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.

"It is more valuable because the victory is the outcome of each athlete's outstanding skills and their combined strength," he added.

Each letter to the different members had a different message. In the letter to Kim A-lang, the oldest on the team, the president said he was especially moved to watch how she always tried to encourage the others but was the first one to shed tears when the race was over.

"I believe the sight of you encouraging each other to skate even 0.1 second faster will remain in our memory for a long time," Moon said.

The other players were Choi Min-jeong, Shim Suk-hee, Kim Ye-jin and Lee Yu-bin.

Their gold medal marked the country's fourth at the ongoing PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games, which began Feb. 9. The games will end Sunday.

(Yonhap)