Lee Boo-jin (born 1970) is a South Korean billionaire businesswoman who has been serving as the president and chief executive of

Hotel Shilla Hotel Shilla ( ko, 신라호텔) is a South Korean operator of luxury hotels and duty-free shops. It is a member of The Leading Hotels of the World. The company is an affiliate of Samsung. History Hotel Shilla started operations in March 1979 at ...

, one of Seoul's leading hotels and conference centers. Lee has been dubbed by the media as "Little Lee Kun-hee" and is regarded as a successful businesswoman for her work in Hotel Shilla. She is the younger sister of

Samsung Electronics Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (, sometimes shortened to SEC and stylized as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean multinational corporation, multinational electronics corporation headquartered in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, South Korea. It is the pinnacle of ...

executive chairman Lee Jae-yong, and the older sister of Lee Seo-hyun, president of Samsung C&T's fashion division.

Early life

She is the daughter of

Lee Kun-hee Lee Kun-hee (, ; 9 January 194225 October 2020) was a South Korean business magnate who served as the chairman of Samsung Group from 1987 to 2008 and from 2010 to 2020, and is credited with the transformation of Samsung to one of the world's la ...

, the late billionaire chairman of

Samsung Group The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ' ...

. She graduated from Daewon Foreign Language High School, a prestigious Korean high school. She earned a bachelor's degree from

Yonsei University Yonsei University (; ) is a private research university in Seoul, South Korea. As a member of the " SKY" universities, Yonsei University is deemed one of the three most prestigious institutions in the country. It is particularly respected in th ...

, major in children's studies.

Career

Lee began her career at Samsung Foundation in 1995 and formerly served as an advisor for the trading department of Samsung C&T. Lee joined Hotel Shilla in 2001 and became president and CEO of Hotel Shilla in 2010. In 2017, she was selected as the most likable female CEO of university students. As of December 2020, her net worth was estimated at US$2 billion. Since 2015, she has been ranked on Forbes' lists of the World's 100 Most Powerful Women.

Personal life

She lives in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

, South Korea. In 1999, she married Im Woo-jae, known in the South Korean press as "Mr. Cinderella" because of his humble background, as an "employee of a security service affiliate of Samsung Group". They separated in 2012, and have one son together. In a court ruling in July 2017, Lee was ordered to pay her ex-husband Im Woo-jae $7.6 million, as part of their divorce settlement, with Lee receiving sole custody of their son. Im allegedly counter-sued and sought $1.1 billion as a division of assets, one of the largest amounts ever requested in an asset split trial in South Korea. Their divorce was settled in January 2020 with Lee ordered to pay Im $12.1 million in an asset split.

References

Living people South Korean billionaires 1970 births Female billionaires Yonsei University alumni Women chief executives Lee family (South Korea) Samsung people {{SouthKorea-business-bio-stub