Lee Jay-hyun
Lee Jay-hyun | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 19, 1960 South Korea |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, businessman |
| Known for | Chairman of CJ Group |
Lee Jay-hyun (; born March 19, 1960) is a prominent South Korean entrepreneur serving as the chairman of the CJ Group.
As of , his net worth is estimated by Forbes at approximately US$1.1 billion, placing him as the 23rd wealthiest individual in South Korea.
Biography
Born in 1960, Lee is the eldest grandson of Lee Byung-chul, the founder of Samsung. His father, Lee Maeng-hee, was excluded from Samsung's leadership succession in favor of his younger sibling, former Chairman Lee Kun-hee.
Lee completed his secondary education at Kyungbock High School and holds a bachelor's degree from Korea University. He started his professional journey at Citibank in 1983 before joining the family enterprise, CheilJedang, in 1985 upon his grandfather's invitation. After short tenures at Samsung Electronics, he assumed control of CJ Group during its separation from Samsung Group in the late 1990s. Under his leadership, CJ evolved into South Korea's 13th-largest business conglomerate.
In 2014, Lee received a four-year prison sentence and a fine amounting to 26 billion won due to charges of tax evasion and embezzlement. Two years later, he was granted a presidential pardon by South Korea's President Park Geun-hye.
Personal life
In 1984, Lee married Kim Heui-jae. The couple has two children, Lee Sun-ho and Lee Kyeong-hoo, both alumni of Columbia University. He also founded the Lee Family Scholarship at Columbia College.