CJ Group Chairman Lee Jay-hyun.

CJ Group is expected to return to an aggressive M&A and investment mode as CJ Group Chairman Lee Jay-hyun was granted leniency along with more than 4,870 people under the presidential pardon marking the anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule on Aug. 11.

APL Logistics, Singapore’s logistics company; Dongbu Express; Meihua Group, China’s food and biotechnology company; and Coway are all companies that CJ Group failed to acquire since 2013. Due to the M&A failures, the group saw its investments almost halve, from 2.9 trillion won in 2012. A decline in the group’s investments was attributable to the management vacuum, caused by Chairman Lee’s absence, a group official said. 

CJ will likely turn to an aggressive M&A and investment mode following Chairman Lee’s being granted leniency. 

Following the presidential pardon being granted to Chairman Lee, CJ issued a statement on Aug. 12 in which Chairman Lee said his contribution to state and society would be the last goal of his remaining life. “I’ve been left with me that I should contribute to boosting the national economy, and I will do my best to become a global culture leader,” he was quoted as saying. 

CJ Group has been cautious since Chairman Lee became the sole tycoon to be granted leniency under the presidential pardon on the grounds of receiving medical treatment. Hanhwa Chairman Kim Seung-yeon, SK Group Vice Chairman Chey Jae-won and LIG NEX1 Vice Chairman Koo Bon-sang were excluded.

The group is expected to maintain a management committee headed by Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik, as Chairman Lee is going to devote himself to receiving medical treatment. He suffers from Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, an inherited neurological disease, and suffers from such symptoms as degeneration of the muscles in the feet, lower legs and hands.

But CJ Group, whose management uncertainty has been eliminated due to Chairman Lee’s being granted to the presidential pardon, is most likely to pick up speed in such activities as M&As and investments, analysts said. 

The group reshuffled executives of CH Hello Vision, whose acquisition by SK has been disapproved by fair trade authorities. Byun Dong-shik, who has been credited with his leading role in growth of the company, and now serves as head of the group’s “contribution to society,” was named to jointly take the helm of CJ Hello Vision with current CEO Kim Jin-suk. 

The group is now engaged in a bid to acquire such companies on the block as McDonalds Korea and Dongyang Magic. 

CJ aims to raise its sales to 100 trillion won by 2020. 

To this end, the group has succeeded in 32 M&As between 2010 and July 2015. CJ’s M&A activities and investments have been lackluster since Chairman Lee was put behind bars. 

CJ plans to expand M&As and investments, which have been sluggish for the past three years, a group official said. 

Chairman Lee has played leading roles in building a strong foundation with a focus on four mainstay businesses media, food & beverages, bio, and home shopping & logistics. Chairman Lee created the multi-media business department in the 1990s that has evolved into CJ E&M. The food service business team and the logistics business team have grown into CJ Foodville and CJ Freshway, respectively. The H Project Team has now developed into Olive Young, who’s sales will surpass 1 trillion won soon. 

CJ has been growing according to the big picture Chairman Lee that has envisioned.

CJ Group headquarters in Seoul. (Photos: CJ Group)