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Ryu signs ad contract with NongHyup

November 5, 2013

By Park Ji-won

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin, right, poses with NongHyup Bank President and CEO Shin Chung-shik at the bank’s headquarter in Jung-gu, Seoul, Tuesday.
(Courtesy of NongHyup Bank)

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin has signed a two-year advertisement contract with NongHyup Bank, the lender said Tuesday.

The signing ceremony took place at the bank’s headquarter in Jung-gu, Seoul, Monday.

As the bank’s main spokesperson, Ryu will appear in the company’s TV, newspaper and magazine ads.

“We decided to choose Ryu because he made us proud through his good performance in his first year in the Major League Baseball,” NongHyup Bank President and CEO Shin Chung-shik said in a statement.

“NongHyup, which is a 100 percent Korean national lender, expects him to represent our vision of becoming an international bank in the future.”

The bank said Ryu will appear in advertisements for all of its group affiliates.

Ryu is reportedly being paid some 1.8 billion won ($1.69 million) for the contract, which is the highest amount in the advertising industry. A NongHyup official declined to reveal how much the bank will pay.

Its first TV commercial featuring Ryu is planned to be released at the end of this year. The commercials are limited to Korea, according to Deputy General Manager Song Hee-kuk of NongHyup Bank.

Ryu finished his first regular season in the league with a solid 14-8 with a 3.00 earned-run average (ERA) in 192 innings with 154 strikeouts, exceeding the expectations of most fans.