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With the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics beginning, the ‘sports management’ efforts of leading local companies are gaining focus.

Among local companies, the most active one is Samsung Electronics, an official partner of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). After Chairman Lee Jae-yong visited Italy for the start of this Winter Olympics, Samsung Electronics has also initiated extensive support that includes athletes, event staff, and spectators. The company is using its newest smartphones to film the opening ceremony and important competition moments, aiming to distribute them globally, and is incorporating mobile technology into every part of the event’s operations. All athletes have been given limited edition Olympic smartphones to assist with language communication and accessing information, while volunteers have received devices with translation capabilities. Charging stations and video analysis monitors have also been set up across the venues.

Non-IOC official companies are increasingly concentrating on backing the South Korean national team instead of the event. CJ Group, working together with the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, has offered food and beverage services and amenities at the athletes’ village and local bases, and remains committed to supporting talented athletes. In the region, they have created a Korea House that acts as a relaxation space for the team and a location for cultural interactions.

The LG Group is recognized as a prime example of sustained sponsorship in less mainstream winter sports like skeleton and ice hockey. Given the high costs associated with equipment and international training, the company has continuously enhanced training facilities and offered equipment support, and more recently, provided household appliances and electronic gadgets essential for training and recovery. The sporting community has commended this long-term sponsorship as an effective method to boost athletes’ global competitiveness.

The Lotte Group is concentrating on promoting skiing and snowboarding. From the mid-2010s onward, it has poured hundreds of billions of South Korean won into expanding these sports at the grassroots level and developing talented athletes, and more recently, set up a specialized team for direct management of athletes.

In corporate settings, there is a strong belief that the Olympics go beyond being a sporting competition, offering a chance to improve brand reputation and establish lasting connections. A representative from the business sector remarked, “Interactions and sponsorships at the Olympic site are about creating trust and relationships, not just immediate gains,” and further noted, “It’s yet to be determined how the companies’ ongoing support will lead to outcomes at this event.”