Samsung's sports marketing called into question after Bluewings' relegation

Yeom Ki-hun, temporary head coach of the Suwon Samsung Bluewings, apologizes to the football club's fans at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Gyeonggi Province, Saturday, after the team's goalless draw against Gangwon FC led to its relegation to the second division in the K League. Yonhap

The relegation of Suwon Samsung Bluewings from the nation's top-tier K League 1 has shocked the club’s fans and raised doubts about whether the nation’s top conglomerate is willing to continue its investments in sports clubs, according to industry officials, Monday.

With Samsung-sponsored professional baseball, volleyball and basketball clubs also remaining in lower ranks in recent years, skepticism has grown over the company’s need for sports marketing.

Until the early 2010s, Samsung-backed football and baseball clubs were the feared enemies of most teams.

Based on overwhelming investments, the Bluewings were once considered "Korea’s Real Madrid," while the Samsung Lions opened the so-called “Samsung Dynasty” in the baseball league through its four consecutive Korean Series wins between 2011 and 2014.

However, their heyday came to an end after 2014, when Samsung left the management of its sports clubs to Cheil Worldwide, a subsidiary in charge of advertising and marketing.

The Bluewings, which managed to avoid relegation last year, dropped to the second division in the league this year, for the first time since its foundation in 1995. The Lions finished the 2023 season eighth among 10 teams, after it ranked seventh in the previous season.

Seoul Samsung Thunders has never ranked above seventh among 10 teams, since taking second place in the 2016-17 Korean Basketball League season. Daejeon's volleyball club, Samsung Bluefangs, finished in last place last season.

Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, left, watches the third game of the Korean Series between the Samsung Lions and the Doosan Bears with his mother and younger sister at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul in this 2015 file photo. Newsis

In 2016, Samsung even tried to sell Cheil Worldwide, although the plan was eventually called off. In 2017, Cheil Worldwide sold its esports club to America’s KSV, despite the team’s victory in the League of Legends World Championship that year.

There is also speculation that Samsung’s apparent indifference to sports clubs may be the result of politics. Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong was sent to jail in 2017 due to his company offering horses to former equestrian Chung Yoo-ra, the daughter of Choi Seo-won, impeached former President Park Geun-hye’s confidant accused of meddling in state affairs.

In response to the skepticism, Cheil Worldwide has emphasized that its investments in sporting clubs remains almost the same as before.

However, Yeom Ki-hun, the Bluewings’ temporary head coach, has complained about decreasing investments in the club.

“Compared to when I first got here, there’s a huge discrepancy in the quality of the squads. We are not spending as much money as back then,” he said. “The players we have now have done their part, but I think it would have helped us if we had more talented players on hand.”

Market observers and sports fans pointed out that there is no reason, from a business perspective, for Samsung to continue investing in domestic sports clubs.

“Samsung has already become a company that does not need sports marketing, so its sponsorships for sports clubs are seen as a kind of social contribution,” an industry official said.

Some fans of Samsung’s sports clubs claimed that it might be better for the company to sell the clubs, just as SK sold its professional baseball team to Shinsegae Group in 2021.