Pyeongchang 2018 has signed a sponsorship agreement with the Lotte Group ©Pyeongchang 2018

Multinational retail conglomerate Lotte Group has been added to the list of domestic sponsors for Pyeongchang 2018 after an agreement was signed here today.

The company, which has headquarters in South Korea and also in Japan, will be the partner of the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in the “Department Store” and “Duty Free Store” categories.

Pyeongchang 2018 is also in discussions with the food, chemicals and shopping corporation regarding potential support from the retailer for the licensing programme for the event in two years’ time.

The deal between the two organisations was officially penned here today at a signing ceremony attended by Pyeongchang 2018 President Cho Yang-ho and Gunilla Lindberg, the Swede who is chair of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coordination Commission.

Cho is hoping the partnership with Lotte will persuade other leading South Korean companies to throw their support behind the Games by signing on as partners of the event.

The lack of sponsorship of the Games was previously highlighted as a key concern of the IOC.

The agreement was signed by Pyeongchang 2018 and Lotte Group during the sixth IOC Coordination Commission visit
The agreement was signed by Pyeongchang 2018 and Lotte Group during the sixth IOC Coordination Commission visit ©Pyeongchang 2018

Pyeongchang 2018 has, however, allayed those fears with a string of sponsorship deals, the most recent of which was agreed with SERVEONE and HS Ad.

The two companies are subsidiaries of the LG Group, a South Korean conglomerate.

“We are happy to have Lotte Group join our partner family, and we are confident that Lotte’s full support for the Olympic Games will motivate other conglomerates in Korea to participate in the sponsorship programme,” Cho said.

The Lotte Group has already provided financial support to Pyeongchang 2018 after Korean Ski Association head Shin Dong-bin, who is also the chairman of the company, pledged around ₩5 billion (£3 million/£4.2 million/€3.8 million) to the opening test event for the Games, an International Ski Federation Alpine Skiing World Cup at the Jeongseon Alpine Centre last month.

The move to back the test event came as part of Shin’s attempt to increase the popularity of skiing in the country ahead of the Winter Olympics and Paralympics in a bid to enhance their medal prospects.

“It is our pleasure to contribute to the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games, which is a global festival,” Lotte Group President So Jin-sei said.

“We will provide our best effort to make Pyeongchang 2018 successful so that the people can enjoy the Games together by having more attention.”