Lee Seo-hyun (; born September 20, 1973) is a South Korean businesswoman and

fashion design Fashion design is the art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction, and natural beauty to clothing and its accessories. It is influenced by diverse cultures and different trends and has varied over time and place. "A fashion design ...

er who served as the president of

Samsung C&T Corporation Samsung Construction and Trading Corporation (; stylized as Samsung C&T) is a South Korean construction and engineering company. It was founded in 1938 as the first Samsung company and was initially involved in construction and overseas trading ...

since April 2024. She is the daughter of Samsung Electronics 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' ...

, and is ranked 14th among the richest people in South Korea, with

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 ...

estimating her December 2024 net worth as US$2.1 billion.

Early life and education

Lee was born on September 20, 1973, as the second daughter of

. Her paternal grandfather is

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 Samsung, and her maternal grandfather is businessman and jurist Hong Jin-ki. She graduated from , , Seoul Arts High School, and the

Parsons School of Design The Parsons School of Design is a private art and design college under The New School located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhattan art ...

(graduated 1997).

Career

In 2002, she joined

Cheil Industries Cheil Industries was an affiliate of the Samsung Group. Since its establishment in 1954, Cheil Industries has been a Korean textile firm. Thereafter, from the 1980s, the company expanded its business areas into fashion, chemicals and electron ...

as head of a fashion research department. She served as vice president of Cheil Industries until 2013. She was made president of

Everland Everland () is South Korea's largest theme park. It is located at the Everland Resort in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. In 2018, it received 5.85 million visitors and was ranked 19th in the world for amusement park attendance. As of 2010, Everla ...

's fashion division at the end of 2013. She was president of Samsung C&T's fashion division from December 2015 until December 2018. In April 2024, she was made president of Samsung C&T. In 2024, it was reported that she owned 6.23% of Samsung.

Personal life

She has an older brother

Lee Jae-yong Lee Jae-yong (; born June 23, 1968) is a South Korean business executive who has served as the executive chairman of Samsung Electronics since October 2022. He is the only son of Lee Kun-hee and Hong Ra-hee. As of December 2024, Lee has an e ...

, older sister Lee Boo-jin and one deceased younger sister Lee Yoon-hyung. Her husband is

Kim Jae-youl Kim Jae-youl (; born 14 October 1968) is a South Korean sports administrator. He has served as the twelfth president of the International Skating Union since 2022 and has been a member of the International Olympic Committee since 2023. Early life ...

(), great-grandson of vice president of South Korea and journalist

Kim Seong-su Kim Seong-su (; October 11, 1891 – February 18, 1955), art name Inchon, was a Korean educator, independence activist, journalist, entrepreneur, politician, and calligrapher. He served as the second Vice President of South Korea from 1951 to ...

. Since 2019, he has been president of Samsung Global Research (). They married in 2000, and have one son and three daughters.

References

{{Reflist Samsung people 1973 births Lee family (South Korea) Living people Parsons School of Design alumni Seoul Arts High School alumni 21st-century South Korean women 21st-century South Korean businesspeople