Mirae Asset stops sponsoring LPGA golfers to prioritize ESG

Kim Sei-young holds a trophy at the Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida, in this December 2020 file photo, after she was named the 2020 LPGA Player of the Year. Reuters-Yonhap

By Park Jae-hyuk

Mirae Asset Financial Group has stopped its 12 years of sponsorship for Korean female golfers to concentrate more on its efforts to satisfy environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) criteria, the company said Friday.

The financial group did not renew its contract with world's second-ranked LPGA golfer Kim Sei-young, whom the group's asset management arm had been sponsoring since 2011, starting when she was an amateur. Kim said Thursday she signed a three-year contract with Mediheal, a Korean cosmetics brand that also sponsors Ryu So-yeon, Lee Da-yeon and Choi He-yong.

When a rumor about the Mirae Asset's decision first spread earlier this year, it was seen as a surprise move by many, considering its founder's keen interest in golf.

Mirae Asset founder Park Hyeon-joo, who is serving as the global investment strategy officer of the group's brokerage arm, Mirae Asset Daewoo, is said to have practiced six hours a day without realizing he had a fractured rib, when he started to learn golf in the mid-1990s.

After Kim won the 2018 Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic with a record 31-under-par score, she also said Park's advice on her swing helped her get out of a slump.

LPGA golfer Kim Sei-young wears a cap with the logo of Mediheal in this file photo. Courtesy of Mediheal

Mirae Asset started to sponsor female golfers in 2009, when it signed a five-year contract to pay up to 7.5 billion won ($6.6 million) to LPGA golfer Shin Ji-yai. It also had a two-year contract in 2015 with KLPGA golfer Lee Hyo-rin, who topped the tournament to seed players.

The financial group runs Sagewood Hongcheon Country Club in Gangwon Province and Sagewood Yeosu Gyeongdo Country Club in South Jeolla Province. In 2011, the company joined hands with Fila Korea to acquire Achushnet, which owns Titleist, one of leading golf equipment brands, and FootJoy, one of the leading golf wear brands.

However, it may be difficult to see Mirae Asset's logo in LPGA Tour tournaments for a while.

“Because ESG has become the most important topic, we decided to prioritize contributions to society,” a Mirae Asset Global Investments spokesman said. “But this does not mean that we will stop sports marketing forever. We will resume it, when we have a chance, although it is not our priority at this moment.”

Apart from the asset management arm's decision, Mirae Asset has continued its sponsorship of table tennis players through its brokerage arm that manages a table tennis team named Tornado.