Honorary Chairman Lee Maeng-hee of CJ Group and the oldest of the late Samsung Group founder Lee Byung-chull’s children died on Aug. 16 at a hospital in Beijing. He was 84 years old.
The family of the late honorary chairman set up his altar at Seoul National University Hospital in Younggun-dong, Seoul, so that every family member, friends, business associates and leaders can pay their last respects to the late business leader. The first group of mourners included Vice Chairman Lee Jai-young, the only son of Chairman Lee Kun-hee of Samsung Group, and a nephew of the deceased, Mrs. Hong Ra-hi, the wife of the Samsung Group’s chairman, Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik of CJ Group and a brother-in-law of the deceased, and Vice Chairman Chung Yong-jin of the Shinsegeye Group, a nephew of the deceased, were among close relatives who visited the altar as soon as it was set up on Aug. 17.
His three sisters visited the altar along with hundreds of business people who knew him well and have business ties with CJ Group. Other close relatives seen at the altar included Chairman Lee Young-ja of Saehan Group, the widow of his late younger brother Lee Chang-hee, and Chairman Koo Ja-hak of Our Home, a brother-in-law of the deceased, Chairman Lee Jay-hyun who is on parole and asked for a permit from the court so he can pay his respects to his late father. Vice Chairman Lee Mee-kyung of CJ Group, the oldest daughter of the late chairman and Pres. Lee Jae-nam of Jaesan Communications, the second son of the late chairman. The funeral ceremony was held on Aug. 20 by CJ Group at the residence of the late chairman in Pil-dong in Seoul, with only close family members and officials of CJ Group attending. It was emceed by famous veteran announcer announcer Kim Dong-kun, who knew the late chairman very well. He was buried at Samsung family private cemetery in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.
A slew of mourners paid their last respects to the late chairman, led by former President Lee Myung-bak; Rep. Kim Moo-sung, chairman of the ruling Saenuri Party; Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance Choi Kyung-hwan; and Rep. Na Kyung-won, chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee of the National Assembly.
Chairman Park Yong-maan of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Chairman Huh Chang-soo of the Federation of Korean Industries; Chairman Chey Tae-won of SK Group; Chairman Park Sam-koo of Kumho-Asiana Group; Chairman Cho Yang-ho of Hanjin Group; Chairman Kim Jung-tai of Hana Financial Group; and Chairman Hwang Chang-kyu of Korea Telecom attended, among others.
Honorary Chairman Lee Maeng-hee made CJ Group what it is today. It is now run by his oldest son, Jay-hyun, as chairman of the group. The late founder launched the company on Nov. 5, 1953. He once said, “Korea cannot be an economically dependent nation, importing all of its basic foodstuffs like sugar from overseas.”
The flagship company of CJ Group is Cheiljedang, an affiliate of Samsung Group, but the units split from the group under Samsung Group’s plan to divide the group between the six siblings of the late founder.
Once a simple sugar company, CJ Group has grown into an international food maker. The flagship company for CJ Group added flour, edible oil and condiments to its vast business portfolio during the early stages of operation, and later took up pharmaceutical and bio-chemistry businesses to further diversify its business portfolio.
CJ Group has also continued to expand and diversify into media, entertainment and logistics, in addition to foodstuffs. The group launched the CBV, a multiplex group of movie theaters in 1998, followed by 39 Shopping, which is now called, CJO Shopping, in 1999. The group set up CJ E&M, which manages the entertainment sector of the group’s operations, which was followed by the takeover of Korea Express, a huge logistics company with nationwide operations in Korea.
“The biggest driving force for this growth was our employees, the human force of CJ. Over the last 10 years since separation from the Samsung Group, CJ has been pursuing not only new growth of business fields, but also the establishment of a flexible and creative corporate culture,” the company said. “Flexible yet holding fast to its principles, we believe that our strong corporate culture pursuing challenges and competition will accelerate our advancement to become a Global CJ.
“Moreover, CJ will advance as the undisputable ‘Great Global Company’ by 2020. Look forward to CJ’s ceaseless innovation and meeting the challenges to realize our vision of becoming the best life and culture company creating health, enjoyment and convenience, the Great Global CJ that brings enjoyment to customers all over the world.”
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