Lotte Chairman Shin Dong-bin Fully Supports Treatment Costs for Snowboard Prospect Choi Ga-on

Shin Dong-bin, Chairman of Lotte, supported the full medical expenses of 80 million KRW for Choi Ga-on, a promising medal contender for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Choi Ga-on (Sehwa Middle School), who became the second Korean athlete ever to win a gold medal at the International Ski Federation (FIS) Snowboard World Cup, is holding up her winning medal at Incheon International Airport last December.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the Korea Ski Association on the 22nd, Choi Ga-on, who won the International Ski Federation (FIS) Snowboard World Cup last December, recently sent a thank-you letter to Chairman Shin for supporting his surgery and treatment costs.

Choi Ga-on won the FIS Snowboard World Cup last December, becoming the second Korean athlete after Lee Sang-ho in 2021 to become a World Cup champion in skiing disciplines. He was considered a strong gold medal candidate at the Youth Olympics held in Gangwon Province this January, but he was unable to participate due to undergoing surgery for a back injury sustained during the World Cup event in Switzerland.

According to Lotte Group, Choi Ga-on, born in 2008, injured his back in Switzerland and had to receive immediate treatment locally. The surgery and treatment costs were inevitably burdensome. Chairman Shin supported the full amount of 80 million KRW to help the young athlete recover from the injury and return to competition as soon as possible.

In January last year, Choi Ga-on set the record as the youngest winner (14 years and 3 months old) at the X Games, an extreme sports event in the United States. The previous youngest winner record in this category was held by Chloe Kim (USA), a gold medalist at the 2018 and 2022 Winter Olympics, at 14 years and 9 months old. He is currently focusing on rehabilitation exercises to return to the slopes next season.

Since becoming the president company of the Korea Ski Association in 2014, Lotte Group, with Chairman Shin serving as the association president until 2018, has sponsored over 22 billion KRW in snow sports over the past 10 years. They have introduced various prize money systems for events such as the World Championships, Youth Olympics, Junior World Championships, and World Cup, including a 300 million KRW reward for Olympic gold medals. This season, they plan to provide approximately 180 million KRW in prize money to athletes.