Coach Park Hang-seo receives the Brand Icon Leadership Award

Coach Park Hang-seo became the first Korean coach to receive the BrandLaureate Brand Icon Leadership Award. The ceremony took place on August 22 at the Majestic Hotel grand ballroom in Kuala Lumpur.

Park received the Brand Icon Leadership Award — among BrandLaureate honors previously given to figures such as Ronaldo, Messi, Alex Ferguson, Harrison Ford, Tom Cruise, Sean Connery and Jackie Chan — raising his global profile as a Korean coach.

The BrandLaureate Awards recognize individuals, companies and organizations of internationally acknowledged brand value, organized since 2005 by The World Brands Foundation (TWBF). Korean recipients via BrandLaureate Korea since 2021 include Ahn Sung-ki, Sumi Jo, Choi Kyoung-ju and Jinjo Crew; the awards have honored roughly 500 individuals and 2,500 companies across about 80 countries.

IRO’s brand review for the award assessed five dimensions — brand strategy, brand culture, brand innovation, brand equity and brand communication — and Park scored 9.3, the organizers said.

TWBF chairman Dr. KK Johan and BrandLaureate Korea’s Doryan Ahn said Park is highly recognized across Southeast Asia beyond Korea and Vietnam, and that the award would further showcase his leadership and influence worldwide. Park said he was honored to receive an award given to internationally recognized brands and accepted it on behalf of Korean sports coaches active around the world.

As the first Korean sports coach to win, Park received a 24K gold trophy, a Swarovski plaque and an Artmandu caricature, and his signature will be permanently preserved at the BrandLaureate exhibition hall.