Behind South Korea’s anthems on snow and ice was more than a decade of steady, low-profile support from the financial sector, with long-term backing of lesser-known sports paying off, analysts said.
At the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, which ended early Sunday in South Korea, the Korean team posted notable results across both snow and ice events. Choi Ga-on’s gold in the women’s snowboard halfpipe was especially symbolic as the country’s first Winter Olympic gold medal in a snow event.
Choi is cited as a standout success of Shinhan Financial Group’s “Rookie Sponsorship.” Shinhan has run the program since 2011 to identify and support promising athletes in less popular sports who have international potential but limited training conditions.
In snowboarding, Shinhan-backed Kim Sang-gyeom won silver and Yoo Seung-eun took bronze, broadening South Korea’s medal haul beyond its traditional strength on ice. Shinhan also sponsors Lee Chae-woon, who unveiled a world-first technique in the snowboard halfpipe at these Olympics, and Lee Seung-hoon, the first Korean athlete to reach the freestyle ski halfpipe final.
KB Financial Group is known for broad support of ice sports over 20 years, starting in 2006 with “figure queen” Kim Yuna. Figure skater Cha Jun-hwan, who finished fourth in the men’s singles, has been backed by KB since 2015.
In the women’s short track 3,000-meter relay, the national team that included KB-sponsored Kim Gil-li and Choi Min-jeong delivered South Korea’s second gold medal of the Olympics. In the women’s 1,500 meters, Kim and Choi won gold and silver, respectively. Kim added bronze in the women’s 1,000 meters, giving her three medals at the Games.
Hana Financial Group has supported luge for 14 years. At these Olympics, Jung Hye-seon finished 24th in the women’s singles, a result the company said helped raise South Korea’s competitiveness in the sport.
Woori Financial Group is sponsoring athletes through an official partnership agreement with the Korea Sport & Olympic Committee. Starting with this Winter Olympics, it plans continued support for national teams competing at major events including the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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