“The signing of Lee Kang-in (22, PSG) has paid off both sporting and commercially. It is a success.”
The French ‘RMC Sport’ highlighted Lee’s popularity with the title “From Seoul to Paris, ‘Madness’ for Lee Kang-in” on the 11th (below).
Lee, who joined PSG in July before the start of the season, played the first and second rounds of the 2023-2024 Ligue 1 before collapsing with an injury and missing the third round of Ligue 1.
He returned to action on Sept. 20 as a substitute against Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League, but soon after the match, he traveled to China to join the national team for the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games.
Led by coach Hwang Sun-hong, the team won the gold medal in a dominant performance. Soon after, Lee was called up by head coach Jürgen Klinsmann to the South Korea A team. Lee scored three goals against Tunisia on the 13th and Vietnam on the 17th. 바카라사이트
Lee’s return to PSG after a long absence was met with some concern.
It was said that leaving the team so soon after his transfer didn’t help him adjust.
However, Lee didn’t need an adjustment period.
He quickly integrated into the team, scoring his first PSG and Champions League goal against AC Milan in the third leg of the UEFA Champions League Group F match on March 26, followed by a goal in the league match against Montpellier on April 4.
Lee’s performances have made him a favorite in France as well as in South Korea.
“The signing of Lee has had a huge commercial impact,” says Mark Armstrong, PSG’s marketing director.
We sold a lot of merchandise in Korea, and instead of touring Japan before the season and then returning to France, we stopped in Busan, South Korea, for a friendly.
It’s now one of PSG’s top three markets in the world,” he says, noting that sales in South Korea have been tremendous.
We were always a popular team, but we’re still growing our following.
We are the third most followed club in South Korea.”
In response to the Lee “craze,” RMC Sports said, “Lee was virtually unknown before his transfer.
He was only known to those who followed Valencia CF and RCD Mallorca for the past five seasons.
When Neymar and Marco Verratti were being sold, Lee’s highlight video skyrocketed in views and showed that he could bring ‘thrills’ to PSG.”
“Lee Kang-in’s popularity is closely tied to the exponential rise of Korean pop culture.
From BTS to BLACKPINK, Newzine to Squid Game, Parasite, and more, it’s a country of fresh-faced mornings. And that includes Lee Kang-in.
Lee hasn’t played a single game in the K League, but many South Korean fans are buying his PSG jersey.”
The media outlet also talked about Lee’s popular “Fly and Shoot” program when he was five years old. “Korean supporters have known Lee Kang-in since 2007, when he first appeared on the show, and he was only 5 years old.
French-Korean broadcaster Fabien said, ‘I’ve lived in Korea for 16 years and this is the first time I’ve seen so many PSG jerseys outside of the Parc des Princes (PSG’s home stadium),'” he said.
According to RMC Sports, Armstrong added: “We will open a new three-story store in Korea in January. We are also expecting new partnership proposals from Korea.
We have already established ourselves successfully in Asia. We have stores in Singapore, Tokyo, and Shanghai.
It’s already a big market, but we also see a big growth trend in Korea.”
“We are very pleased with the sporting and commercial results of the transfer of Lee Kang-in.”
Meanwhile, Lee started PSG’s match against Stade de Reims in the 12th round of the 2023-2024 French Ligue 1 in Reims, France, at 1:00 a.m. on December 12, helping PSG to a 3-0 victory.
Despite failing to record an offensive point, Lee played 77 minutes before being subbed off, recording one shot, an 88% passing success rate, and two chances created.