By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff Reporter

Korea's leading corporations have been eager to take advantage of figure skater Kum Yu-na's success at the Vancouver Olympics last month in promoting their products and corporate image at home and overseas.

Companies have launched massive ad campaigns and engaged in other public relations activities in a bid to brand themselves as a corporate gold medalist, arguing they have become a global leader by successfully overcoming the unprecedented worldwide economic slump and other hardships over the years.

Now, the Korean government has jumped on the Kim Yu-na bandwagon in a campaign to attract foreign investment.

During a meeting with investors in New York last Friday, Vice Strategy and Finance Minister Hur Kyung-wook said Kim is a new symbol of a ``dynamic'' Korea, stressing that Asia's fourth-largest economy has much in common with the Olympic champion.

He showed the participants a slide of Kim winning the gold medal. ``Korea is not an underdog anymore,'' he said. ``Korea has successfully overcome a host of obstacles and emerged as a rising global star, like Kim.''

The vice minister told U.S. investors that both the figure skater and the Korean economy have not resorted to luck for success but hard work, and gave four common factors behind their success.

The factors are: a ``never-give-up'' spirit, a ``can-do'' mentality, progress through competition and strong fundamentals.

Hur showed another slide featuring Kim titled ``Yu-na's Rise and Fall.'' It showed pictures of Kim falling on the ice at a past world championship and the rising to become the world's best at the Vancouver Olympics.

``Kim's journey from failure to success resembles that of the Korean economy over the six decades. Kim had cried over her past mistakes. But she did not give up and continued to work hard, finally winning the Olympic gold medal," he said.

``Korea has successfully rebounded from the global financial crisis and become a global leader. Both have a lot in common.''

The vice minister then told the participants that Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) will likely advance Korea into its ``developed market'' category in the first half of this year, encouraging them to expand investment in Korea.

``We have yet to receive confirmation from MSCI officials. But we are feeling positive that they will elevate Korea's status to an advanced market in the coming months. Last September, the Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) included Asia's fourth-largest economy in its developed market index, attracting larger investments from outside,'' he said.

Korea has upgraded its status to a ``rule maker'' from a ``rule taker'' in the global economic community as it takes initiative in a range of global economic agenda items.

``We will host the G-20 summit in November and are currently leading a series of discussions in the building of a global financial safety net and other crucial post-crisis policy issues. Additionally, we used to be an aid recipient. But now we are a donor nation,'' Hur said. Last December, Korea joined the OECD's Development Assistance Committee (DAC), a club of donors.

leehs@koreatimes.co.kr