Korean Air Lines Co., the country's flagship carrier, has become a corporate sponsor for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea, the event organizers said Wednesday.

The signing ceremony took place at Lakai Sandpine Resort in Gangneung, east of PyeongChang in Gangwon Province. The International Olympic Committee's Coordination Commission on PyeongChang is visiting the area this week to check preparations for the Olympics. Gangneung will host curling, hockey and skating events at its coastal cluster during the Olympics.

According to the organizing committee, Korean Air will provide passenger services for the Olympic organizers and national team athletes, and also cargo flights to aid the games' operations.

Korean Air also reserves a wide range of marketing rights, including the use of intellectual property and the use of PyeongChang's logo in their advertising campaigns.

PyeongChang had been on the hot seat for its inability to draw sponsors as the clock ticks down to the country's first Winter Games. In a meeting with corporate leaders last month, President Park Geun-hye was compelled to ask them to actively sponsor the Winter Olympics.

Cho Yang-ho, head of the organizing committee, is also chairman of Hanjin Group, the parent conglomerate of Korean Air. (Yonhap)