The following is the list of number of competitors in the Games: South Korean archers qualified each for the men's and women's events by reaching the quarterfinal stage of their respective team recurves at the 2019 World Archery Championships in 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands.

[4] The South Korean archery team for the rescheduled Games was announced on 24 April 2021, including London 2012 gold medalist Oh Jin-hyek and Rio 2016 Olympian and former world record holder Kim Woo-jin.

[42] South Korea qualified a single boat (men's K-1 200 m) for the Games by winning the gold medal at the 2021 Asian Canoe Sprint Qualification Regatta in Pattaya, Thailand.

[68] Key: The South Korean women's handball team qualified for the Olympics by winning the gold medal at the 2019 Asian Qualification Tournament in Chuzhou, China.

Park Hee-jun qualified directly for the men's kata category by finishing third in the final pool round at the 2021 World Olympic Qualification Tournament in Paris, France.

Rio 2016 Olympian Jun Woong-tae secured his selection in the men's race by winning the bronze medal and sealing one of three spots available at the 2019 UIPM World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

[91] Meanwhile, Asian Games silver medalists Lee Ji-hun and Kim Se-hee confirmed places each in their respective events with gold-medal victories at the 2019 Asia & Oceania Championships in Kunming, China.

[94] South Korea qualified one boat in the women's single sculls for the Games by finishing sixth in the A-final and securing the third of five berths available at the 2021 FISA Asia & Oceania Olympic Qualification Regatta in Tokyo, Japan.

[106] Meanwhile, Nam Tae-yun earned a direct place in the men's 10 m air rifle for the rescheduled Games as the highest-ranked shooter vying for qualification in the ISSF World Olympic Rankings of 6 June 2021.

With the IFSC Asian Championships cancelled because of the travel restrictions brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, Chon Jong-won and Seo Chae-hyun received the unused berths respectively, as the continent's highest-ranked male and female sport climber vying for qualification, at the 2019 Worlds in Hachioji, Japan.

[139] South Korea qualified two wrestlers for each of the following weight classes into the Olympic competition; all of whom progressed to the top two finals of the men's Greco-Roman wrestling (67 and 130 kg), respectively, at the 2021 Asian Qualification Tournament in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

"[142] The South Korean government also called for a ban of the Rising Sun Flag in the Olympic Games, due to being considered to be offensive as a consequence of its usage by the Imperial Japanese military during World War II.

In September 2019, the South Korean parliamentary committee for sports asked the organisers of 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo to ban the Rising Sun Flag.