“Steel Troops” cast member Hwang Chung-won has revealed that he suffered an acute myocardial infarction, a heart attack, and is now in hospital awaiting a second procedure. The CrossFit athlete shared the news himself on social media on November 4, days after he was rushed to an emergency room and moved to intensive care.
Hwang, 36, said he was grateful to be alive, crediting his wife’s devoted care and the concern of many well-wishers. He explained that the blood clot blocking his coronary artery was larger and harder than expected, so the first procedure could not remove it completely. He is now waiting for a second procedure, and admitted candidly that he is frightened about what lies ahead, while expressing hope that it will go well.
The emergency began during a competition on October 31. Hwang said he first felt something wrong during his first match of the day at around 12:30 p.m., when his breathing felt restricted, but he initially dismissed it as simple stuffiness. By the second match, which began at 4 p.m., his breathing had grown noticeably worse. After returning home to Seoul, he finally called for help at around 10 p.m. and was taken by ambulance to an emergency room, where he was transferred to a critical care unit and diagnosed with an acute myocardial infarction.
Hwang used his update to urge others not to repeat his delay. He said that anyone who feels even slightly unwell should go to a hospital without fail, a warning shaped by his own experience of pushing through a full day of competition while his symptoms worsened. His account underlines how easily early warning signs can be mistaken for ordinary fatigue or breathlessness during intense physical exertion.
Hwang first became widely known in 2021 through Channel A and ENA’s “Steel Troops 1,” the military survival series that turned its contestants into public figures. A former member of the Republic of Korea Navy’s Maritime Salvage and Rescue Unit, he went on to appear in other physically demanding programs, including “Physical: 100 Season 2” and “King of Ssireum.” That background makes the suddenness of his collapse especially striking: a competitor known for elite fitness found himself in intensive care after what began as unexplained breathlessness.
No further details about the timing of the second procedure or his longer-term recovery have been shared. For now, Hwang remains under hospital care, and his own message is the fullest account available. His update closes with gratitude rather than alarm, but the facts he lays out are serious: a blocked coronary artery, an incomplete first procedure, and a second intervention still to come. Further updates are expected to come from Hwang himself, and this story will be updated as more information becomes available.
