Ekaterina Avvakumova, a Russian-born biathlete who obtained South Korean citizenship in 2016, won the women's 7.5-km sprint event with a time of 22:45.40.
Her victory marks the country's first-ever gold medal in biathlon at the quadrennial event. The previous best result was a silver-medal finish in the men's relay event at the 2003 Asiad in Aomori, Japan.
China's Meng Fanqi, who finished with a time of 22:47.80, won silver, while Tang Jialin, also from China, took third place with a time of 23:01.
Biathlon is a discipline that combines cross-country skiing with rifle shooting.
Earlier, Avvakumova also competed in the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in the alpine city of Gangwon Province here, finishing 16th in the women's 15-km event, which was the best Olympic result for a South Korean female biathlete.
With the games halfway through before wrapping up this Friday, South Korea remains second in the overall gold-medal count with 12 gold, 11 silver, and 10 bronze medals, trailing behind host country China, which has secured 25 gold, 23 silver, and 19 bronze medals.
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