Hyundai Oilbank, a subsidiary of the Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, has agreed to become title sponsors of the K-League, South Korea’s top flight soccer league.

The Hyundai-affiliated oil refinery will pick up K-League sponsorship from another relation of the multinational South Korean conglomerate, the Hyundai Motor Company.

The league will be officially known as the Hyundai Oilbank K-League 2011, with the title sponsors also holding branding rights for pitchside advertising hoardings at K-League stadiums. Hyundai Oilbank will also be afforded various promotional and public relations opportunities on and off the pitch.

Kwon Oh-Gap, chief executive of Hyundai Oilbank, said: “Although the amount of the sponsorship is not disclosed it will naturally become known at some point. I’m confident that my company will benefit from the partnership, probably ten times as much as the initial investment.”

Previously, Samsung Electronics were title sponsors of the K-League between 2002 and 2008, but the league failed to find a replacement for them in 2009 before the Hyundai Motor Company came in for the 2010 season, rebranding the division the Sonata K-League.

The deal was agreed to by Chung Mong-Gyu, chairman of construction firm Hyundai Development Company, who was named as the K-League’s new president in January after his predecessor Kwak Chung-Hwan stepped down in the wake of declining attendances and television viewing figures.

The Yonhap News quoted a Hyundai Oilbank official saying: “We’re pleased to be the title sponsor for the K-League, which will make a fresh start in 2011. We will try and help football grow more popular and also raise our brand recognition through marketing.”

Former Korean Football Association president Chung Mong-Joon , who lost his Fifa vice presidency to Crown Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan last month, is the controlling shareholder of the Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, parent company of Hyundai Oilbank.

The new K-League season begins on Saturday 5th March.

Source: sportspromedia.com

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