OK Financial Group is providing 100 million won ($72,000) to support South Korean national team athletes and coaches competing at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
The group said on the 28th that it held a ceremony to present the encouragement funds to the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee on the 27th at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, central Seoul. About 10 officials attended, including OK Financial Group Chairman Chey Yoon, Korean Sport & Olympic Committee President Ryu Seung-min, sports division head Kwon Chul-geun and training headquarters director Kim Yoon-man.
The 100 million won will be used to boost morale among national team athletes and coaches competing in 41 sports at the Asian Games, as well as to support local training and competition.
The chairman's personal ties shaped the sponsorship. A third-generation Korean resident of Japan, Chey was born and raised in Nagoya. The donation is intended to back athletes who will compete under the Korean flag at an international sporting event held in his hometown.
"It is a special feeling to see South Korean national team athletes compete in Nagoya, my second home," Chey said. "I wanted to lend even a small amount of support so that the athletes and coaches who have sweated for a long time in preparation for these Games can perform at their best."
"I hope this becomes One Team Korea, where the support of athletes, coaches, Korean residents in Japan who have carried on the identity of our people, and the public all comes together as one," Chey added. "Just as earlier generations of Korean residents in Japan lent their strength at every important moment in South Korean sports, I will cheer so that our national team athletes can display their skills to the fullest on the Asian stage."
OK Financial Group runs the OK Savings Bank Read Men professional volleyball team, founded in 2013, and has hosted the OK Financial Group Read Men Open on the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association regular tour for 16 years. Chey served as deputy chief of the South Korean delegation at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and as delegation chief at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games.
"I am grateful to Chairman Chey, who has long supported the development of Korean sports, for sending encouragement to the national team," Ryu said. "We will do our utmost in our preparations so that the athletes and coaches can deliver their best performances at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games."
