Jun, the Olympic bronze medallist, won 31 and lost four of his bouts during the fencing ranking round at the Bulgarian venue.

The performance ensured Jun will take an advantage into tomorrow’s men’s final, where he will seek a sixth World Cup win of his career.

Solid performances in the swimming and laser run sections of the event saw Jun comfortably finish in the leading group, which also featured Tokyo 2020 gold medallist Joseph Choong of Britain.

Egypt’s Ahmed Hamed, Bulgaria’s Todor Mihalev and Hungary’s Gergely Regos also advanced comfortably from semi-final B.

South Korea’s Chang-wan Seo led semi-final A, followed by Egypt’s Mohamed Elgendy.

The top four was completed by Mexico’s Duilio Carrillo and Mohanad Shaban of Egypt, with Cairo World Cup winner Christopher Patte of France ending fifth.

The best 18 athletes secured places in tomorrow’s men’s final, with Jun beginning on 280 points following his fencing display today.

The South Korean has a 30-point advantage over his nearest challenger Shaban.

Both the men’s and women’s finals are due to be held tomorrow.

The World Cup event is scheduled to conclude with the mixed relay on Sunday (May 15).