Samsung chief highlights 30 years of sponsorship at Winter Olympics

Samsung Electronics Chair Lee Jae-yong (second row, fourth from right) poses for a photo alongside key figures, including IOC President Kirsty Coventry (first row, sixth from right), US Vice President JD Vance (first row, fifth from right) and Italian President Sergio Mattarella (first row, seventh from right), during the gala dinner hosted by the International Olympic Committee on Thursday in Milan, Italy. (Samsung Electronics)

Marking Samsung Electronics’ decadeslong Olympic sponsorship, Chair Lee Jae-yong is strengthening global ties through sports diplomacy at the recently opened Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics, engaging with world leaders and top executives.

According to Samsung Electronics on Sunday, Lee attended the gala dinner hosted by the International Olympic Committee for the opening of the Games, representing Samsung Electronics as the only Korean company and a longstanding member of The Olympic Partner Program (TOP), the highest level of Olympic sponsorship.

Attendees included IOC President Kirsty Coventry, US Vice President JD Vance and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as well as heads of state such as Italian President Sergio Mattarella, King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar, Polish President Karol Nawrocki and Hungarian President Tamas Sulyok.

Global business leaders also gathered, including TCL Chair Li Dongsheng, Allianz CEO Oliver Bate, Omega CEO Raynald Aeschlimann, Anheuser-Busch InBev CEO Michel Doukeris, Airbnb Co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky, Procter & Gamble CEO Shailesh Jejurikar, Visa CEO Ryan McInerney, Deloitte CEO Joseph Ucuzoglu and The Coca-Cola Company CEO James Quincey.

An industry source stated, “The IOC gala dinner is more than a social gathering. It’s a venue for behind-the-scenes diplomacy on global and business issues. Lee’s presence reinforces Samsung’s global standing and strengthens Korea’s sports diplomacy.”

Samsung has maintained a nearly 30-year Olympic partnership, starting with local sponsorship of the 1988 Seoul Games and becoming an IOC TOP sponsor in 1997. As the only Korean TOP partner, it holds exclusive marketing rights in the wireless communications category, meaning no other mobile phone companies may use Olympic marks.

Samsung’s Olympic sponsorship is set to continue through the LA 2028 Games, following Lee’s 2018 meeting with then-IOC President Thomas Bach to renew the partnership.

Lee’s engagement builds on his active role at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, where Samsung rolled out the Galaxy Z Flip6 selfie campaign. Athletes were seen capturing celebratory moments with the device, boosting the global profile of Galaxy smartphones. Lee also met with business leaders such as Tesla CEO Elon Musk, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan and LVMH Chair and CEO Bernard Arnault.

Following the legacy of the late Samsung patriarch Lee Kun-hee — who helped secure PyeongChang as host of the 2018 Winter Olympics — Chair Lee is working to further enhance Samsung’s global brand power.

According to US-based Interbrand, Samsung’s brand value has climbed steadily from $5.2 billion in 2000 — when it ranked 43rd globally — to $90.5 billion in 2025, securing a top-five ranking for six consecutive years.

By Byun Hye-jin ([email protected])

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