"From Volleyball and Rugby to LoL: Savings Banks Truly Passionate About Sports"

‘KBO (Korea Baseball Organization)·K League·V League…’

These are Korea's representative professional sports leagues. Their commonality is that corporations directly operate the teams. If corporations were to stop managing the teams, the leagues themselves would become impossible to operate, making Korean sports and corporations inseparable entities. Many corporations also engage in sports association management to promote the development of the sports themselves. Corporate heads often take charge of sports associations. Notable examples include Chung Eui-sun, Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group (Korea Archery Association), and Chey Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group (Korea Handball Federation).

Due to the nature of professional sports requiring strong financial backing, large corporations mainly operate the teams. However, some companies considered ‘Davids’ compared to large corporations actively manage and sponsor teams. In the financial sector, these are savings banks belonging to the secondary financial market. They spare no effort in sponsoring everything from professional volleyball teams to rugby teams, e-sports, billiards, and archery for the disabled?areas that large corporations often avoid. Through this, they aim to shed negative images and enhance their brand value.

In March of last year, OK Financial Group held an inaugural ceremony to officially launch the 'Eutman Rugby Team.'
[Photo by OK Financial Group]

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Among savings banks, OK Financial Group is the most active in sports marketing. According to OK Financial Group, Chairman Choi Yoon is actively supporting the expansion of sports participation and the discovery of promising athletes.

OK Financial Group operates the ‘Uthman Pro Volleyball Team.’ In 2012, the Dream Six volleyball team faced disbandment after sponsorship ended. The group attempted to acquire the team but failed due to negative perceptions of the ‘loan business.’ However, the group changed its plan to create a new team, submitted an application to the Korea Volleyball Federation (KOVO), and successfully established the 7th team in 2013. The team has performed well, winning the championship two consecutive years within three years of its founding.

Chairman Choi also took office as president of the Korea Rugby Union and directly founded a rugby team. He expressed his ambition to transform it into an advanced amateur sports club. Players work as employees of OK Financial Group and participate in training and matches after work or on weekends. This allows them to focus on sports without worrying about their livelihood.

Choi Yoon, Chairman of OK Financial Group

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The sponsorship scope is also expanding into the e-sports field. Last year, OK Savings Bank signed a naming sponsorship contract with Brion eSports’ League of Legends (LoL) team ‘Brion.’ This is the first time a savings bank brand name has been used for an e-sports team. They also sponsor women’s professional basketball as a naming sponsor, support male judo athlete Ahn Chang-rim, and host baseball tournaments for the hearing impaired, showing no hesitation in supporting less popular sports.

Additionally, Pepper Savings Bank operates the women’s professional volleyball team AI Peppers and an archery team for the disabled. Welcome Savings Bank runs the PBA professional billiards team ‘Wellbank Phoenix.’ A savings bank official stated, “We are sponsoring with a long-term perspective rather than seeking short-term results,” and added, “We will continue to support the expansion of various sports disciplines in the future.”

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