KOREA WHO

Lee Mi-kyung is Vice Chairwoman of CJ Group.

She also serves as Executive Vice Chairwoman overseeing CJ ENM.

She worked as the executive producer of films such as “Parasite” and “Decision to Leave,” helping raise the international influence of Korean cinema and the content industry.

She was born on April 8, 1958, in Michigan, the United States, as the eldest daughter of Lee Maeng-hee, honorary chairman of CJ Group.

She graduated from the Department of Home Economics at Seoul National University and earned a master’s degree in East Asian Regional Studies from Harvard University, as well as a doctoral degree in History Education from the graduate school of Fudan University in China.

While serving as a director at Samsung America, the U.S. subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, she led investment negotiations with DreamWorks, the film studio founded by director Steven Spielberg. Together with her younger brother, Chairman Lee Jae-hyun, she made an equity investment of KRW 300 billion (US$ 215.8 million) in DreamWorks and secured Asian distribution rights, marking CJ’s entry into the entertainment business.

She later moved to CheilJedang, where she led the cultural content business. She acquired the music-focused cable channel Mnet, established film investment and distribution company CJ Entertainment, and launched CGV, Korea’s first multiplex cinema, entering the movie theater business.

She worked as a non-registered executive at CJ, CJ CheilJedang, and CJ CGV.

After stepping away from frontline management, she stayed long-term in the United States to receive treatment for a chronic illness, while continuing to promote Korean films, dramas, and K-pop artists overseas.

She is also exploring ways to export CJ ENM’s content to the United States.

She is widely regarded as a powerful “godmother” figure in the Korean entertainment industry.

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