The South Korean side beat Russia 9-4 in the evening session at the Orleans Arena to finish fourth behind already-qualified Sweden, Scotland and Canada.

The 2018 Winter Olympic and Paralympic host nation were joined in the playoffs by the US, who won a straight battle for the sixth and final berth in the next round.

In a tense affair, the hosts edged Switzerland 5-3.

Norway ended the round robin phase in fifth place.

Scotland and Sweden, the two nations who progressed straight through to the semi-finals, had earlier completed their round robin campaigns with victories.

Olympic silver medallists Sweden comfortably beat Japan 7-3 and Scotland eased to a 9-4 win over China.

The two sides both finished with an 11 win and one loss record from their 12 group stage matches.

"We’re on track for our goal of getting the gold," said Scottish skip Bruce Mouat.

"We’re playing really well and hopefully we can continue that into the semi-final and hopefully the final."

The decision to revert back to six countries qualifying for the playoffs has received a mixed response from the curlers.

Canadian skip Brad Gushue claimed having nearly half of the field qualify for the next round dilutes the quality of the showpiece event in the sport.

"Six teams out of 13 is too many," Gushue told The Sports Network.

"It's really rewarding mediocrity.

"Get into the playoffs with a 50-50 record and have two of the best days of your life and you're a world champion."

The event is due to continue tomorrow.