SK Telecom held the second ‘Team SK Send-off Ceremony’ on the 29th, following last year’s Asian Games, at the Superex Hall in SK T-Tower, located in Euljiro, Seoul, in preparation for the Olympic stage where amateur athletes will showcase their talents.
Since starting its support project for amateur national representatives and young sports enthusiasts in 2022, SKT has been leading the way in the balanced development of domestic sports and the implementation of sports ESG.
This event saw a total of seven athletes attend, including Oh Sang-wook, Koo Bon-gil, Song Se-ra, Yoon Ji-soo (all fencing), Kang Kyung-min (handball), Park Hye-jeong (weightlifting), and Hwang Sun-woo (swimming).
The ceremony started with the entry and introduction of the seven athletes, who sincerely answered questions regarding their preparations for the Olympics during a group interview, addressing inquiries from fans and reporters alike.
Fencers Koo Bon-gil and Oh Sang-wook expressed that “The New Avengers can create a synergy effect by building on the interest generated by the previous Avengers. Our playing styles are different now, and we have more determination, so if expectations are high, we will rise to meet them,” indicating their commitment.
Weightlifter Park Hye-jeong, asked what kind of medal announcement she would like to hear from the commentators, shyly requested, through a video message, “I would like to hear, ‘We believed in Park Hye-jeong, and she did it!’”
After the interviews, a ‘T-Torch Lighting Photo Call Ceremony’ took place, gathering the enthusiasm and energy of fans to ignite a digital torch. The send-off ceremony concluded with the screening of a Team Korea cheering video that incorporated SKT’s AI-generated technology to support their performance in Paris.
The AI technology applied in the video will be available during the Olympic period starting July, through SKT’s AI personal assistant service, A.Dot’s AI Photo, which will newly offer the ability to generate AI group profiles while preserving facial features at a high level even for photos taken with two or more people. They plan to hold a cheering event where national team athletes and couples/groups can take AI photos together.
A relay event will be held for the general public on Instagram to support Team Korea at the Paris Olympics, utilizing the T-torch ignited during the send-off ceremony. As each athlete’s competition schedule approaches, short-form video series featuring Team SK athletes will be aired on social media, and a YouTube video featuring the hottest influencer Jonathan alongside Team SK athletes will be broadcast just before the Olympics.
Kim Hee-seob, SK Telecom’s communications head (Vice President), stated, “I support your challenges, setbacks, hard work, and tears toward your goals, and I hope that this competition becomes an event where not only Team SK athletes but all Team Korea representatives receive encouragement and respect.”
Lee Sang-jin daedusj@autodiary.kr