Lee Gyu-lee is a business writer at The Korea Times, focusing primarily on IT & telecommunications, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KOTRA. Prior to this, she has covered a wide range of cultural news, from film, television and K-pop to lifestyle and fashion.
Samsung chairman joins world leaders at 2026 Winter Olympics gala
Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, second row fourth from right, poses with world leaders and business figures at a gala dinner for the opening of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in Italy, Thursday (local time). Captured from the Italian presidential office website
By Lee Gyu-lee
Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong is leveraging the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics as a stage to strengthen his global network with world leaders.
Lee joined the International Olympic Committee (IOC) gala dinner on Thursday (local time) to mark the opening of the Games, representing Samsung Electronics as the only Korean company in the committee’s top-tier sponsor program.
The event gathered world leaders, including Italian President Sergio Mattarella, U.S. Vice President JD Vance, King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and Polish President Karol Nawrocki, along with top executives from global firms, including TCL Chairman Li Dongsheng.
An industry insider said the IOC gala dinner goes beyond a social gathering, serving as a venue for back-channel diplomacy where global political and business issues are discussed in private.
“Lee’s attendance underscores Samsung’s global leadership and Korea’s growing influence in sports diplomacy,” the official said.
This is not Lee’s first entry into Olympic diplomacy. He has also previously been involved at the Paris Summer Olympics in 2024, where French President Emmanuel Macron invited him to a luncheon with global business leaders, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, to discuss future technologies and cooperation among major firms.
The company also took the event to spotlight its new Galaxy Z Flip 6 marketing push, as the athletes’ selfie campaign using the device helped build buzz around the brand.
Samsung’s Olympic engagement has continued for nearly three decades, rooted in a legacy established by former Chairman Lee Kun-hee, who also served as an IOC member from 1996 to 2017. The company became an IOC top sponsor in 1997 after initially supporting the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics.
In 2018, Lee Jae-yong extended Samsung’s sponsorship through the Los Angeles Summer Olympics, set for 2028.
Samsung noted the Olympic sponsorship goes beyond simple brand exposure, standing as one of the most successful sports marketing cases that fuses the spirit of athletic challenge with the company’s image of innovation.