Swimming - Korea's Park makes splash with ad campaigns

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean teenager Park Tae-hwan has become the focus of advertising campaigns valued at over 100 billion won ($96 million) since winning the country's first Olympic gold in swimming, industry executives told local media.

Park, nicknamed "marine boy", signed major endorsement deals ahead of the Games when he was shattering South Korean records on his way to his triumph in the 400m freestyle on day two of the Games.

South Korea, host of the 1988 summer Olympics, have had their share of Games heroes, but not someone like Park, a charismatic 18-year-old who is the first Korean to rank among the best in the world in events long dominated by Americans and Australians.

Two major companies that signed Park as their pitchman ahead of the Games, leading wireless carrier SK Telecom and top lender Kookmin Bank, also struck gold.

"The value of the impact from our advertising campaign with Park has increased by 10-fold," said Kim Jin-young, a Kookmin Bank spokesman.

Both companies have already stepped up their campaigns with Park, who has saturated the South Korea airwaves since the Games started. In total the campaigns are valued at over 100 billion won.

Local media said Park would also receive about $600,000 in prize money from the government and sponsors for his medals at Beijing that include a silver in the 200m freestyle, an event won by Michael Phelps.

In the wake of Park's success, South Korea said it would bid to host the 2013 World Swimming Championships, which could lead to the construction of an expensive aquatics centre.

Meanwhile, the maker of the oversized headphones Park wears before jumping in the pool is seeing a run on its products.

"After he put on our headphones in Olympic Games, calls for purchase are skyrocketing," said Kim Young-rang from the manufacturer Cresyn.

(Additional reporting by Angela Moon)