Im Ae-ji

In this Korean name, the family name is Im.

Im Ae-ji (Korean: 임애지; born May 11, 1999) is a South Korean amateur boxer. In 2024, she became the first South Korean woman to win any Olympic medal in boxing.^[2]

Im Ae-ji
Im in August 2024
Born	(1999-05-11) May 11, 1999 (age 25) Hwasun, South Korea
Nationality	South Korea
Statistics
Weight class	Featherweight
Height	1.66 m (5 ft 5 in)
Boxing record[1]
Total fights	26
Wins	15
Wins by KO	0
Losses	11
Draws	0
No contests	0
Medal record Representing  South Korea Women's Boxing Olympic Games 2024 Paris Bantamweight World Junior Championships 2017 Guwahati Lightweight

Im Ae-ji
Hangul	임애지
Revised Romanization	Im Ae-ji
McCune–Reischauer	Im Ae-ji

Early life and education

Im briefly competed as a track and field athlete when she was young and started her boxing career in her second year of middle school, although Im's parents objected her sports career transition. Since her school did not have a boxing club, she trained at the gym she went to, and eventually won in a local competition just one year after starting as a boxer.^[3]

Im graduated from Hwasun Elementary School [ko], Hwasun Middle School [ko], Jeonnam Technical Science High School [ko], and Korea National Sport University.^[4]

Career

Im debuted on the world stage by winning the gold medal at the 2017 World Youth Women's Boxing Championships in Guwahati, becoming the first Korean female boxer to do so in a world competition.^[3]

In 2018, she competed at the Asian Games in Jakarta in the women's featherweight division, but lost in the first round of the competition.^[3]

Im qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics by winning bronze medal in the women's featherweight division at the Asia and Oceania qualifiers in Amman in March,^[5] but lost 1-4 in the quarter-finals against Australian boxer Skye Nicolson.^[6]

In 2022, she competed at the Asian Games in Hangzhou in the women's bantamweight division but lost 0-5 against North Korean boxer Pang Chol-mi.^[5]

In 2024, Im lost in the first world qualifier held in Busto Arsizio in March, and as soon as she came back to South Korea, Im went to the selection again and got a ticket to the second world qualifier held in Bangkok in June, with the goal of going to the Olympics.^[3] In August, she took the bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics after Im lost 2-3 in the semi-finals of women's bantamweight division against Turkish boxer Hatice Akbaş.^[7] In December, she won the bronze medal at the 2024 World Boxing Cup Finals in Sheffield by beating Japanese boxer Mikoto Harada in the quarter-finals of the women's bantamweight division but lost 0-5 against Mongolian boxer Oyuntsetsegiin Yesügen in the semi-finals.^[8]

Personal life

Im's family is a sports enthusiast. Her mother Lee Young-ae is a marathon runner and runs a marathon event company, while her younger sister Im Ha-jin is a cross-country runner for the Gyeonggi Provincial Office.^[3]

She is a fan of the South Korean boy group Monsta X,^[9] and enjoys listening to the group's songs while practicing.^[3]

Recognition

Awards

• Proud Jeonnam People's Award at the 28th Jeollanam-do Residents' Day (2024)^[10]
• Fair Play Award at the 13th MBN Women's Sports Awards (2024)^[11]
• Encouragement Award – Game Category at the 71st Korea Sports Council Awards (2025)^[12]
• Best Player Award by Korea Boxing Association (2025)^[13]

Legacy and impact

In 2024, Im became the first South Korean boxer to win an Olympic medal in boxing at the Paris Olympics in 12 years after Han Soon-chul at the London Olympics and the first South Korean woman in history.^[14] A boxing gymnasium in Hwasun, South Jeolla Province, was also created and named after her.^[15]

Im was able to increase the international competitiveness of Korean boxing through achieving changes in the weight class of women's boxing in South Korea, as well as making boxing a trend, with the increased number of female club members and gaining popularity among young people, as after-effect of her winning at the Olympics.^[4]