"Why Wasn't It Available in Korea?" Outcry as Limited-Edition Cup Sells for Up to 110,000 Won—12 Times Its Original Price

Exclusive Model Contract Issues with Competing Brands Appear to Be Resolved

McDonald’s has announced that it will begin airing advertisements and promotions featuring its global ambassador, Son Heung-min, within South Korea as well.

Soccer player Son Heung-min is posing in the same manner as the illustration on his cup. Screenshot from Son Heung-min's Instagram.

On July 12, McDonald’s Korea started broadcasting TV commercials featuring Son Heung-min during the live coverage of the FIFA World Cup quarterfinal match between Argentina and Switzerland. Starting July 13, McDonald’s locations nationwide plan to relaunch the “FIFA World Cup Set” promotion, which includes a “Son Heung-min Cup.” The FIFA World Cup Set consists of a Big Mac, medium French fries, a medium Coke, and one randomly selected limited-edition collector’s cup featuring a soccer player.

Previously, ahead of the North and Central America World Cup, McDonald’s ran a limited-edition “Collector Cup” promotion featuring illustrations of nine world-renowned football stars, including Son Heung-min, David Beckham, and Ronaldinho. However, the cup with Son Heung-min's illustration was not available at McDonald’s Korea locations.

This was because Son Heung-min had exclusive model contracts with competing brands in South Korea. He is currently an exclusive ambassador for various food and beverage brands, including Domino’s Pizza, MegaMGC Coffee, and Lotte Wellfood’s World Cone. Due to standard practices in the domestic advertising market, exclusive models are not permitted to appear in the marketing activities of rival brands within the same or similar food and beverage sectors during the contract period.

A McDonald’s collector cup featuring illustrations of Son Heung-min, David Beckham, Ronaldinho, Thierry Henry, Ramin Yamal, and Grimace, the McDonald’s character. Screenshot from McDonald’s social media.

As a result, McDonald’s Korea had withheld domestic advertisements and excluded the “Son Heung-min Cup” from the promotion line-up to avoid contract conflicts and legal risks, even as the global promotion continued. The product line-up varies by country. Cups released in South Korea included five designs: David Beckham, Ronaldinho, Thierry Henry, Ramin Yamal, and Grimace, the McDonald’s character.

This led to a phenomenon where “Son Heung-min Cups” obtained from overseas McDonald’s outlets, such as in the United States, were resold on domestic secondhand trading platforms for between 55,000 and 110,000 won each. The Son Heung-min Cup features scenes reminiscent of his signature “camera celebration,” dynamic shooting poses, and a white tiger graphic symbolizing the Korean national football team. The American cartoon-style illustration further enhanced its appeal as a World Cup collectible, driving up prices. As a result, many Korean football fans expressed dissatisfaction, asking, “Why can’t Korean consumers purchase the cup of their own national player?”

However, it appears that the complicated contract issues have now been resolved as of today. Nevertheless, McDonald’s Korea told Yonhap News, “We cannot disclose the details of the contract adjustments.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.