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KBO Sets 20-Year Record as Shinhan Bank Inks Korea’s Largest Sports Sponsorship
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) has made sports business history, announcing a record-shattering 10-year extension with Shinhan Bank worth 115 billion Korean won (KRW), approximately US$77.7 million for exclusive league naming rights, active from 2028 to 2037.
This brings Shinhan Bank’s total run as KBO League title sponsor to 20 consecutive years, the longest in South Korean professional sports.
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Financial Details and Deal Structure:
Contract Value: KRW 115 billion (US$77.7 million) over 10 years, beginning 2028; annual average of KRW 11.5 billion.
Sponsorship Rights: Full KBO League naming rights, digital overlays, in-stadium branding, all-star and postseason activations, integration into league media/content, and exclusive engagement rights with millions of KBO fans.
Fan Reach: The KBO League recently notched over 10 million cumulative spectators in a single season, underscoring baseball’s status as Korea’s #1 professional sport and a commercial juggernaut.
Strategic Importance:
This renewal was sealed just months after a prior extension (for 2026–27) and includes a comprehensive memorandum pledging “long-term cooperation beyond 2027.” Shinhan Bank will invest in:
National and Youth Development: Direct funding and promotions for the national baseball team and youth baseball pathways.
Marketing Innovation: Daily fan engagement, match predictions, quizzes, initiatives built for KBO’s broad digital fan base.
Community Impact: Activation not just around the league’s ten franchises but nationwide events and grassroots programs.
Commercial & Sponsorship Context:
Shinhan Bank is Korea’s oldest financial institution (est. 1897) and has quickly become the most visible non-endemic sponsor in Korean sports. The brand’s current sponsorship portfolio also stretches across:
Title rights: To the Asian Tour’s Shinhan Donghae Open (golf) and the men’s H League (handball).
Team sponsorships: In women’s basketball, and support for national squads in a dozen Olympic and non-Olympic sports.
Alignment: This deal further aligns Shinhan Bank with Korean baseball’s largest consumer audience, a strategic asset as banks increasingly target digital engagement and affinity marketing.
KBO League’s Growth and Outlook:
Underpinning this long-term partnership has been the extraordinary growth of KBO fandom. The league reported more than 10 million stadium visitors last year, record-breaking viewership on digital platforms, and a commercial boom in club-level sponsorships and activations.
For Shinhan Bank, locking down naming rights for another decade crystalises dominance in the most valuable sports property in the country, with brand exposure that simply matches no other domestic deal.
KBO Commissioner Heo Guy-Yeon captured the mood: “This 10-year, 115 billion won sponsorship is the largest in the history of domestic professional sports. It’s a launching point for an even brighter future for Korean baseball.”
