Hyundai-sponsored archers reign supreme with 9th-straight gold in Tokyo

Chung Euisun, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman and chair of the Korea Archery Association (KAA), was captured on TV July 25, watching the women’s archery team in Tokyo winning their ninth consecutive gold medal at the Olympics since 1988.

Sources report that Chung went to Tokyo immediately after his week-long business trip to the US.

South Korea, which also snatched gold medals in the men’s archery finals on July 26 and for the mixed team event, introduced at this year’s Olympics in Tokyo, has won 26 of the 37 Olympic gold medals awarded for archery since 1984. 

The KAA noted its system of pure meritocracy, selecting Olympic team members based on test results only, and Hyundai Motor Group’s longstanding sponsorship as key factors behind South Korea’s extraordinary dominance in Olympic archery.

Hyundai Motor Group has been the leading sponsor of Korea’s national archery team for the past 36 years since 1985, when the group's current honorary chairman Chung Mong-koo assumed the position as KAA chair.

Sources report that the automaker has made sponsorship donations of more than 50 billion won ($43 million) to Korean archery over the last three decades. Under its sponsorship, KAA also hosted the 1985 and 2009 World Archery Championships in South Korea.

Hyundai Motor Group’s current Chairman Chung Euisun, Chung Mong-koo’s only son, succeeded his father’s KAA chairmanship in 2005.

Korea’s archery community says that Chung is known for his generous contributions in setting up world-class facilities and adopting the latest mechanic technology to improve bow quality.

For instance, prior to the Tokyo Olympics, Chung helped KAA set up a replica of Tokyo’s Yumenoshima Park Archery Field in South Korea wherein the team could practice.

At the Rio 2016 Olympics, KAA under the chairman’s leadership conducted a series of non-destructive inspections on bows using Hyundai Motor Group’s cutting-edge technology. The motor group also assisted in the design of custom-made bow grips for the athletes using its 3D printing technology.

Chung is also known for providing a set of limousines and trailers, with shower booths and resting lounges, nearby the archery field at Rio 2016 to optimize the team's  mental and physical condition. Due to concerns of public security in Rio, Chung also provided private bodyguard services and bulletproof vehicles to the archery team there.

At London 2012 Olympics, Chung led KAA to book an entire hotel just for the country’s archers participating in the Games.   


Write to Byung-uk Do at dodo@hankyung.com
Daniel Cho edited this article.