According to Rep. Jeong Yeon-wook on the 24th, the Korea Badminton Association signed a sponsorship contract with a supply company and promised ’14 days of free promotional appearances.’ Not only the national team but also aspiring players under the age of 13 were mobilized for promotional contracts, but it was confirmed that the players’ consent was not obtained during this process. In accordance with the sponsorship contract unilaterally concluded by the association, players were required to appear individually or as a group as advertising models in photo shoots, promotional events, and commercial filming.
(Reporter Jo Eun-hye, Xports News) As the conflict between the Korea Badminton Association and national team member Ahn Se-young is deepening, People Power Party lawmaker Jeong Yeon-wook, a member of the National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, said, “The Badminton Association is virtually forcefully mobilizing players, including Ahn Se-young, to advertise for sponsoring companies. He said, “There was no appearance fee or consent form,” raising the issue.
According to Rep. Jeong Yeon-wook on the 24th, the Badminton Association signed a sponsorship contract with Yonex and promised ‘free promotional appearances for 14 days.’ Not only the national team but also aspiring players under the age of 13 were mobilized for promotional contracts, but it was confirmed that the players’ consent was not obtained during this process. In accordance with the sponsorship contract unilaterally concluded by the association, players were required to appear individually or as a group as advertising models in photo shoots, promotional events, and commercial filming.
At the National Assembly audit of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee held at the National Assembly on the 22nd, Korea Badminton Association President Kim Taek-gyu (left) and Sports Agency CEO Min Kyung-guk are answering questions from lawmakers regarding athlete Ahn Se-young. Yonhap News
Ahn Se-young was even mobilized for three photo shoots during the World Championships, and had to participate in sponsor promotional events after the Japan Open. 20 athletes competing in the Asian Games in July 2023 and 11 athletes competing in the Olympic Games in May 2024 also appeared in promotional advertisements for Yonex, the sponsor. There was no modeling fee or appearance fee.
The Korea Sports Council said, “There is no regulation that requires a model to appear for free as a model for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) or the Korea Sports Council,” and added, “(Appearance in advertisements) is carried out by sponsors signing individual advertising contracts with athletes.” The Korea Sports Council receives consent when using a player’s image rights, and the Football Association restricts the rights of sponsors to protect the contract rights of the national team.
It has been reported that the Badminton Association has been forcing players to appear in free advertisements based on the sponsorship contract signed with Yonex, even though it has no legal basis. On September 10, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced through an interim briefing on the Badminton Association’s investigation that the sponsorship contract “has nothing to do with supporting the national team and is not a reason to recognize an exception to the law.”
The badminton preliminaries for the ‘105th National Sports Festival’ were held at Miryang Badminton Stadium in Miryang-si, Gyeongsangnam-do on the 9th. Ahn Se-young of Samsung Life Insurance in Busan competes with Yu-jin Shim at Incheon International Airport in Incheon. Yonhap News
Unlike badminton players such as Ahn Se-young, table tennis bronze medalist Shin Yu-bin signed an advertising contract of her own free will. They appeared as advertising models for Binggrae and Haenaru Rice, and each donated 100 million won as part of their modeling fees. It is known that Park Tae-hwan, who won the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, is paid at least 400 to 500 million won per episode.
Rep. Jeong Yeon-wook said, “The association that is supposed to support the national team mobilized the national team to make money for the association,” and called for improvement of the “shameless practice,” saying, “Athletes are not slaves that the association can manipulate for free.”
Ahn Se-young is leaving the country through Incheon International Airport to participate in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Super 750 Denmark Open on the morning of the 13th. Yonhap News
Photo = Advertisement screen featuring Ahn Se-young, Yonhap News
Reporter Jo Eun-hye [email protected]
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