Large-banner World Cup ads not legal

By Kang Seung-woo

Staff reporter

Big firms take advantage of the "soft" laws and light punishment, by going full-scale in outdoor banner advertisements to associate their brand names with the World Cup.

The Jung-gu District Office recently issued orders to dismantle big outdoor advertisements at five places ― the headquarters buildings of SK Telecom, SK Networks, Hana Bank and the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), and the old building of Samsung Group.

The advertisements are large enough to wrap nearly the entire fa?ade of the buildings.

SK Telecom, which has earned huge brand recognition after supporting street cheering campaigns during the past two World Cups, has a gigantic photo of national player Park Ji-sung covering one side of its building, while Hyundai Motors, one of FIFA's official sponsors, has gone with Olympic gold medalist Kim Yu-na in its oversized ad poster in Jongno, downtown Seoul.

Kyobo Life Insurance hung a football ground-sized promotion on its main building in Gwanghwamun.

The Jongno-gu District Office has told those companies to remove them.

According to the law, a big banner that covers up windows is not allowed except for department stores and discount retailers.

Otherwise, the advertiser faces fines of up to 500 million won ($400,000), which they obviously don't mind paying in exchange for the enormous exposure.

"Companies exploit the soft penalty," said an official of Jongno-gu office.

"The law needs to be revised to slap them with a much harsher fine in order to stop the illegal advertising."

Actually, one of the companies said it would display it until the end of the World Cup despite the fine.

"We see the World Cup as a festival the whole nation can enjoy. We hung the banner to root for the Korean football team," said an official of SK Telecom.

"We want people to appreciate it."

In addition to the fine, a lack of labor is attributed to the non removal of the illegal large banner advertisements.

"To dismantle the over-sized posters, we need more manpower but we don't have it," a district official said, adding that they can't forcibly remove them, unless the firms do it voluntarily.

대형 월드컵 현수막 광고 서울에서 불법

대형 업체들이 “허술한” 법과 가벼운 처벌을 이용 월드컵과 자사의 브랜드 이미자를 연계시키기 위해 옥외 현수막 광고를 대대적으로 하고 있다.

중구청은 최근 다섯 곳 즉 SK 텔레콤, 하나은행, 기업은행 본점과 삼성그룹 구 본관에 있는 옥외광고를 철수하라고 명령을 내렸다.

광고는 건물 전체를 거의 다 덮을 정도로 크다.

지난 두 차례에 걸친 월드컵 중 거리응원을 지원한 후 브랜드 인지도를 엄청나게 얻은 SK 텔레콤은 자체 건물의 한쪽 면 전체에 박지성 선수의 초대형 사진을 걸어두고 있으며 FIFA의 공식 스폰서 중 하나인 현대 자동차는 김연아 올림픽 골드메달리스트의 사진을 종로 사옥에 초대형을 해 놓고 있다.

교보생명은 광화문 본점 건물에 축구장만한 판촉 물을 걸어두었다.