SK Telecom announced on the 28th that it held the '3rd SK Telecom Sports Talent Sponsorship Ceremony' after selecting 30 high school students from 16 amateur, less popular sports such as athletics, swimming, fencing, and weightlifting. The ceremony took place at SK T Tower in Euljiro, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 27th.
The 'SK Telecom Sports Talent Support Program' is designed to identify and nurture excellent sports talent early and provide support for high school athletes to train in a stable environment. SK Telecom initiated the program in October 2022 to promote balanced development in amateur sports, and this year marks its third iteration.
The 'SK Telecom Sports Talent Support Program' is evaluated as playing a significant role in helping talented sports prospects in Korea, where support for amateur events is lacking, to become national representatives.
Among the players from the first and second SK Telecom Sports Talent programs, modern pentathlete Shin Soo-min, sprinter Namadi Joel-jin, gymnast Moon Geon-young, swimmer Kim Jun-woo, and high jumper Choi Jin-woo have been selected as national representatives while still in high school. Additionally, during the 105th National Sports Festival held in October last year, athletes affiliated with the Sports Talent program won a total of 19 gold medals, 5 silver medals, and 7 bronze medals.
Na Ju-young, a national squash representative who was selected as a 3rd SK Telecom Sports Talent and attended the sponsorship ceremony that day, said, "I am really grateful for the social interest and corporate support that I received through sports, and I want to repay that by achieving good results."
Meanwhile, Oh Sang-wook, a two-time fencing champion at the Paris Olympics last year, sent a congratulatory and encouraging video message to junior athletes at the sponsorship ceremony. Oh Sang-wook stated, "Receiving interest and help as a sports player is a rare fortune, and I hope you can pursue your big dreams without limits."
SK Telecom has been supporting the Korea Fencing Association as a key sponsor for the 23rd year and is also involved in the development of domestic amateur sports by supporting athletes such as weightlifter Park Hye-jung.
SK Telecom has signed an official sponsorship contract with the Korean Sports Council until 2028 and continues to support the 'golden' challenges of amateur athletes participating in the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games and the 2028 LA Olympics. SK Telecom also conducted the 'The Great Journey: We Are the National Team' campaign during the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, receiving a lot of positive responses online and offline, and supported national representatives in sports like fencing, weightlifting, and swimming.
Kim Hee-seob, head of PR at SK Telecom, presented bouquets to the athletes at the sponsorship ceremony, stating, "I expect the athletes selected as sports talents to achieve even greater dreams both as national representatives and in international competitions," and noted, "SK Telecom will be a strong support for promising amateur athletes to continue growing."