Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong will take part in the 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics, returning to "sports management" after two years.
According to the business community, Lee departed for Milan, Italy, on the morning of the 5th via the Seoul Gimpo Aviation Business Center (SGBAC) in Gangseo District, Seoul.
During this trip, Lee is expected to watch the Winter Olympics and meet figures from global politics and sports as well as key business partners.
The Olympics are considered a major stage for global business because businesspeople from countries around the world gather to cheer on their national teams and to network.
This schedule marks Lee's first Olympic visit in two years since visiting Paris during the 2024 Paris Olympics. At the time, Lee attended a luncheon for global corporations at the Élysée Palace in Paris at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron, where Lee interacted with figures from various countries' business circles and exchanged views on key economic issues.
He was also spotted locally with Kim Jae-yeol, president of the International Skating Union (ISU) and a Commissioner of the International Olympic Committee (currently an executive board member), cheering for Oh Sang-uk, who won the first gold medal for the Korean delegation in the men's individual sabre final in fencing.
At the time, it drew attention as Lee's first Olympic attendance in 12 years since he watched the London Olympics in 2012 with family members including former Chairman Lee Kun-hee, Hong Ra-hee, honorary director of the Leeum Museum of Art, and Hotel Shilla President Lee Boo-jin.
Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics is the only Korean corporations among the 15 TOP (The Olympic Partner) tier sponsors of the International Olympic Committee. It signed a TOP contract with the International Olympic Committee in 1997 and has been the official sponsor in wireless communications since the "1998 Nagano Winter Olympics."