Kim's clientele includes Coca-Cola, KB Financial Group and SK Telecom, among others.GETTY IMAGES
Retired figure skater Yuna Kim has an allure in the South Korean ad industry that is "almost unbeatable," according to Ko Dong-hwan of the KOREA TIMES. Kim, 28, known as "queen" in Seoul, has been "busily featuring in commercials after solidifying her reputation," winning Gold in the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics and Silver at Sochi 2014. She retired from skating following the Sochi Games but her volume of commercials has since increased. Kim is now paid between 1B won ($930,000) and 1.4B won ($1.3M) per ad in South Korea, according to industry watchers. With the Pyeongchang Games being held this month, Kim "almost paved her presence all over the Olympic TV commercials." During the opening ceremony, she was the final Olympic torch bearer, "briefly exhibiting her skating prowess before lighting the cauldron." Ad industry experts expect she will earn more than 16B won ($14.9M) this year, compared to 15B won last year (KOREA TIMES, 2/21).
