According to the Yonhap News Agency, a panel at the Justice Ministry has endorsed the recommendation by the Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) for Frisch to become a citizen of the country.

In June, South Korea's top sports body made the recommendation, saying Frisch is a "qualified athlete" who received elite training in Germany, the world's strongest luge nation.

Immediately after the meeting, the ministry notified the Korea Luge Federation of the decision.

Frisch is now set to be given citizenship if she passes a Ministry interview with the athlete set to enter South Korea early or in the middle of this month for the test.

An official at the Federation said the procedures have almost been completed, adding: "She will pass the interview with ease."

If there are no major problems, Frisch is now expected to represent South Korea in World Cup and other international competitions starting in January, according to the official.

Competing for Germany, Frisch has won gold medals at the Junior World and Junior European Championships and claimed the overall Junior World Cup title in 2012.

She retired from the sport when she failed to make the senior Germany squad for the 2015-2016 season.

The KOC has said that the addition of Frisch will improve South Korea's chance of winning a medal in the sled sport at their home 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

Among the three sled sports of bobsleigh, skeleton and luge, South Korea has not produced any promising athletes in Frisch's discipline.

In bobsleigh, South Korea's Won Yun-jong and Seo young-woo ended their 2015-2016 season as the world's number one bobsleigh team, while skeleton's Yun Sung-bin finished as the world number two after winning one gold, three silver and two bronze medals in eight World Cup races.

Germany, on the other hand, has produced a long line of luge talent with Frisch recently appearing for South Korea during testing of the Alpensia Sliding Centre being built for Pyeongchang 2018. 

Frisch is not the first athlete South Korea has attempted to fast-tracking citizenship for.

In April it was reported that Canadian ice hockey players Matt Dalton and Eric Regan had been given Korean citizenship in order to play for the national team in Pyeongchang

They join four other North American-born players on the 22-man national team, coached by former National Hockey League defenceman Jim Paek.

Previously, Canadian forwards Brock Radunske and Michael Swift, American forward Mike Testwuide, and Canadian defenceman Bryan Young were all naturalised.

Meanwhile, passports were also issued to Russian biathletes Anna Frolina and Alexander Starodubets.

Frolina, who is now 32, finished fourth in the women's 7.5-kilometres sprint at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and won the gold medal in the relay at the 2009 Biathlon World Championships in Pyeongchang.