Lee Myung-hee (; born 5 September 1943) is a South Korean business magnate and the chairwoman of the Shinsegae Group. She is the youngest daughter of

Lee Byung-chul Lee Byung-chul (; 12 February 1910 – 19 November 1987) was a South Korean businessman who founded the Samsung Group, the country's largest chaebol ( conglomerate). Lee founded Samsung in 1938, at the age of 28. He is recognized as the most ...

, founder of the

Samsung Group Samsung Group (; stylised as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in the Samsung Town office complex in Seoul. The group consists of numerous affiliated businesses, most of which operate unde ...

and the sister of the former late chairman

Lee Kun-Hee Lee Kun-hee (; 9 January 194225 October 2020) was a South Korean businessman who served as the chairman of Samsung from 1987 to 2008 and from 2010 to his death in 2020. He is also credited with the transformation of Samsung to one of the world' ...

. Lee became the company's chairwoman in 1997 following its separation from

Samsung Samsung Group (; stylised as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational manufacturing Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in the Samsung Town office complex in Seoul. The group consists of numerous a ...

and is credited with growing it into the country's second-largest retailer. With an estimated net worth of $840 million she is one of the wealthiest people in South Korea and was ranked 20th on ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' 2017 list of 50 Richest Koreans.

Biography

Lee was born in

Uiryeong County Uiryeong County () is a county in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. Uiryeong County has a population of 27,550 (2019) and is one of the least populated counties in South Korea. History Early history No presence of Neolithic artefacts have ...

to Samsung founder

and his first wife Park Du-eul as the youngest of eight children. She attended Ewha Girls' High School and then majored in art at

Ewha Womans University Ewha Womans University () is a private women's research university in Seoul, South Korea. It was originally founded as Ewha Haktang on May 31, 1886, by missionary Mary F. Scranton. Currently, Ewha Womans University is one of the world's largest f ...

before marrying a Seoul National University and Columbia-educated engineer, Chung Jae-eun, who served as the president of

Samsung Electronics Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (SEC; stylized as SΛMSUNG; ) is a South Korean multinational major appliance and consumer electronics corporation founded on 13 January 1969 and headquartered in Yeongtong District, Suwon, South Korea. It is curr ...

and is currently the honorary chairman of Shinsegae Group. After ten years of being a

homemaker Homemaking is mainly an American English, American and Canadian English, Canadian term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping, housewifery or household management. It is the act of overseeing the organizational ...

, she became a sales executive at Shinsegae Department Store in 1979 and then its Chairwoman in 1997 after the company was separated from Samsung.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Myung-hee 1943 births Living people South Korean billionaires Female billionaires Ewha Womans University alumni Samsung people People from South Gyeongsang Province South Korean women in business 20th-century South Korean businesspeople 21st-century South Korean businesspeople 20th-century businesswomen 21st-century businesswomen Lee family (South Korea)