Son has economic effect of 590 billion won on home country

It has been found that Tottenham Hotspur’s captain Son Heung-min had an economic effect of 590 billion won on the South Korean economy as of last year.

According to a report on the economic effect of players in major global sports leagues issued on Sunday by the Hyundai Research Institute (HRI), 3.5 percent of respondents in a national image survey associated Son Heung-min with South Korea last year. Given that he joined the English Premier League in 2015, the report estimated the yearly increase rate of recognition at 0.5 percent points, which was multiplied by 48.7 percent or the rate of national recognition being converted into the use of the country’s products to conclude that Son’s contribution to the export of consumer goods was 0.24 percent points.

With the export value of the country’s consumer goods estimated at 86 billion dollars as of last year, it was assumed that Son made contributions worth 270 billion won – almost equivalent to the value of exporting 9,800 passenger cars. The HRI concluded that this increase in exports translates into 590 billion won worth of production along with the value-added inducement effect of 184 billion won.

Currently, 17 South Korean football players including Son are currently in major European leagues such as Britain, Spain, Germany, and France. The research institute said in the report that the domestic export structure needs to stabilize further so that the growth of the K-Wave including sports can boost the export of consumer goods.


Chang-deok Kim drake007@donga.com