SEOUL, February 05 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong has traveled to Italy to attend the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, where he is expected to combine Olympic engagements with meetings aimed at strengthening global business ties.
Lee departed for Milan on Thursday, marking his first visit to an Olympic Games since attending the Paris Summer Olympics in 2024.
Lee is expected to attend the opening ceremony and hold meetings with political and business leaders on the sidelines of the Games.
He is also likely to explore cooperation opportunities with partners connected to Samsung’s European operations, including mobile devices, automotive electronics and semiconductors.
Samsung Electronics has been an Olympic sponsor since serving as a local partner for the 1988 Seoul Summer Games. The company signed a global TOP (The Olympic Partner) sponsorship agreement with the International Olympic Committee in 1997 and has extended the partnership through 2028.
Lee’s trip continues a recent pattern of using major international events for business diplomacy. In 2024, he visited the Paris Olympics — his first Olympic appearance in 12 years — where he held meetings with global industry leaders, including former ASML chief executive Peter Wennink, and attended a business leaders’ luncheon hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace.
Samsung said it will work with the IOC and Olympic Broadcasting Services to film parts of the opening ceremony using its Galaxy S25 Ultra smartphone and broadcast the footage live to global audiences.
* This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP.
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