Chairman Lee Jay-hyun of CJ Group.

CJ Group unveiled an investment plan designed to secure future growth engines, a daring move to achieve a breakthrough in continued growth for the group and its affiliates despite difficulties facing most food companies in Korea.

The group has been unable to finalize investment plans because its chairman has been absent due to illness for the past couple of years, causing some to worry about the group’s future.

The group has decided to plunk down some 1.9 trillion won in investment this year, up more than 200 billion won from last year, to various areas of its operation in the entertainment and media sectors such as content production, facilities, R&D facilities in the bio industry and the logistics sector.

Most of investment in South Korea has gone to infrastructure projects that help create jobs and boost the sagging economy. Recently CJ Korea Express dedicated the largest logistics terminal in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province with an investment of 380 billion won. 

The group is also engaged in the formation project for “K-culture Valley” in Koyang City just outside of Seoul, which is part of the Creative Cultural Fusion Belt to drum up Hallyu spread around the world.

CJ Group will also focus on M&A targets overseas, following its takeover of Tongqing Logistics Company, the largest logistics firm in China last year.

Officials of the group said they cannot sit idle just because the chairman is ill, taking care of only day-to-day businesses. 

Many changes have occurred in the group’s businesses, requiring firm action by the group lest it should lose a chance for further growth and be left behind by competitors. They promise to examine any projects that the group goes after carefully before going ahead with them in the absence of the chairman for the sake of the group’s continuous growth.

CJ Group (Chairman Lee Jay-Hyun) announced a blueprint for its culture business sector. As part of the blueprint, the group aims to become one of top 10 global companies by 2020 and improve the national brand through the industrialization of Hallyu (Korean Wave).

CJ Group announced the vision and global strategy of its culture business sector for 2020 during a Media Seminar at CJ HumanVille in Pil-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul on Sept. 2. The event was a chance to examine the importance of the culture industry for the national economy and 20 years of CJ Group’s growth to outline the new vision for the group. CJ Company CEO Lee Chae-Wook presented the vision with other directors of the management in attendance at what is seen as a momentous event for the company.

CEO Lee Chae-Wook said that CJ would make every effort to grow its sales in the culture industry to 15.6 trillion won by 2020 to join 10 companies biggest culture companies in the world. He stressed that point, saying “CJ will play a pivotal role in growing the culture industry to be the next growth engine for the Korean economy.”

The plan is to achieve a four-fold increase in the sales of CJ’s culture business affiliates, including CJ E&M, CGV, and Hello Vision, by 2020 from its current level of 3.6 trillion won, thus placing the group among the top 10 global companies. The 2020 sales of the world’s number one culture company Comcast is expected to reach 87.5 trillion won, with Walt Disney in second place at 69.2 trillion won.

CJ CGV plans to expand the number of screens from the current 1,637 in six countries (namely Korea, the U.S., China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Myanmar) to 10,000 across 12 countries around the world by 2020. The key element of this strategy is to increase the share of overseas business to 80 percent of the total targeted screens and 65 percent of total sales, which would transform CJ CGV into a truly global multiplex.

CJ E&M has set itself the goal of growing as a global “total contents” company by developing content that is well-loved by foreigners and focusing on obtaining global IP (intellectual property) rights. As part of the plan for its movie business, CJ E&M will expand the production and distribution of films co-produced with China and Southeast Asian countries.

A view of the CJ Building in Seoul where the group’s affiliates have offices.(Photos:CJ Group)