Olympics chiefs call for Samsung support
Lee Jae-yong Samsung Electronics vice chairman
By Kim Yoo-chul
Olympics chief Thomas Bach asked Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong for more support for the 2018 Winter Games to be held in the mountain resort of Pyeongchang.
“Samsung Vice Chairman Lee met the International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Wednesday evening at the Seocho Samsung Tower,” the Samsung Future Strategy Office said Friday.
The meeting lasted for about two hours at the Samsung Corporate Club, at which the conglomerate serves dinners to key clients and high-profile government officials.
The office said the IOC president praised the preparations being made for the Games and asked the Samsung heir to continue his support for the Games.
“The IOC chief also hoped for the speedy recovery of Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee, who has been hospitalized for more than a year after heart-related problems,” said the office, without elaborating.
There had been expectations that the two would talk about the role of Samsung Chairman Lee, a member of the IOC, as well as Moon Dae-sung, a former Olympic taekwondo champion who is the other Korean IOC member.
Chairman Lee is unable to do outdoor activities. Lee’s IOC membership title will expire in January 2022.
Industry officials say Cheil Industries President Kim Jae-yeol, husband of the chairman’s youngest daughter Lee Seo-hyun and a manager handling Samsung’s sports-related businesses, may replace the chairman as an IOC member.
But Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Yang-ho is also said to have an interest in taking the position, though the group, the operator of the Korean Air, declined to comment.
Bach had maintained a constructive partnership with the Chairman Lee. Since 1998, Samsung has been as one of the official Olympics partners in telecommunications.
Samsung extended its Olympics sponsorship through 2020 after Vice Chairman Lee met the Olympics chief in the Chinese city of Nanjing in July last year.
The 2018 Games will be the biggest ever, with a record 102 events.