CJ Group Chairman Lee Jay-hyun Visits London to Accelerate European Expansion

CJ Group Chairman Lee Jay-hyun visited London, UK, to assess the potential for expanding business in Europe and secure future growth engines...

CJ Group Chairman Lee Jay-hyun visited London, UK, to assess the potential for expanding business in Europe and secure future growth engines. This follows his global initiatives, including visits to Japan in April and the US in August. This is seen as a determination to accelerate the expansion of new territories in the global market.

According to CJ Group on the 22nd, Chairman Lee began his visit to London on the 9th alongside key executives from the holding company and affiliates. Lee Mi-kyung, CJ Vice Chairman, Kim Hong-gi, CEO of CJ Corporation, Yoon Sang-hyun, CEO of CJ ENM, and Jeong Jong-hwan, Head of Content and Global Business at CJ ENM, were among the group’s core executives who accompanied him.

This marks the first time Chairman Lee Jae-hyun has engaged in on-site management in Europe. This move underscores the importance of Europe in CJ Group’s global territorial expansion. Earlier, starting with a visit to Saudi Arabia last year, Chairman Lee has been actively pursuing global on-site management, including trips to Japan and the US this year.

Chairman Lee stated, “To leap forward as a global leading company, we must accelerate the expansion of new territories, including the European region. Following the US, which serves as the group’s global business hub, we must proactively explore new growth opportunities in the European market, which holds significant potential.”

In particular, during a meeting with local employees, he emphasized, “We must not miss the K-wave spreading across Europe in all directions and quickly secure the local market to leap forward as a ‘pan-European top-tier player.’ I ask that we increase the speed of global territory expansion so that Europe can emerge as the next strategic region following the US.”

During this on-site management, Chairman Lee met with key figures in industries related to the group, including global think tanks, investment firms, and entertainment experts, to explore local collaboration opportunities. He also examined European consumer trends and the local K-trend to review the group’s global strategy.

In this European on-site visit, Chairman Lee first met with Len Blavatnik, founder of global investment firm Access Industries, to share insights on the global media and entertainment market and discuss strategic collaboration to expand K-content and strengthen platform competitiveness. He also met with Bronwen Maddox, Director of Chatham House, the UK’s Royal Institute of International Affairs, a world-leading diplomatic and security think tank, to assess the impact of changing trade environments on the European market and business opportunities.

In a meeting with Professor Georgeun from Oxford University, a K-trend expert, Chairman Lee examined cultural consumption trends in Europe and the potential for the spread of K-food and K-beauty. Additionally, he discussed strategies for leveraging sports marketing for global consumer goods and content companies with Khaldoon Al Mubarak, CEO of UAE sovereign wealth fund Mubadala and co-founder of City Football Group, which owns 13 global clubs including Manchester City FC, and Michael Payne, CEO of Payne Sports Media Strategies and former first Chief Marketing Officer of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

A source from CJ Group stated, “This on-site management in the UK is part of global territorial expansion connecting Asia, the Americas, and Europe, and is a strategic move to support the group’s future growth. We plan to create differentiated competitiveness in the global market, focusing on the group’s core businesses such as food, beauty, and entertainment.”