Im Gyeong's 'Thank You J'... Lee Jae-hyun's Tenacity Created the Impossible Dream, the 'Parasite Miracle'

Investing Despite 25 Years of Deficits... 'Parasite' Brings Success
Aiming to Become a Global Cultural Company... CJ Leading the K-Culture Frontline

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] Lee Mi-kyung, Vice Chairwoman of CJ Group, who appeared on stage to receive the Oscar for Parasite, expressed gratitude by saying, "I thank my younger brother (J, Lee Jae-hyun, Chairman of CJ Group)," hinting that he was the miraculous 'patron.' Behind Vice Chairwoman Lee, who directly led the marketing by supporting 10 billion KRW solely for CJ ENM's distribution and investment of Parasite and the so-called 'Oscar campaign'?the pre-promotion work for the Academy Awards?was Chairman Lee's silent support. This is clearly revealed in Vice Chairwoman Lee's remarks praising Chairman Lee, saying, "Thank you for always letting us dream, even if it is an impossible dream."

According to CJ Group on the 11th, Chairman Lee did not deliver a separate comment regarding Parasite's four Academy Awards wins. However, it is reported that he is more determined than anyone else to realize the 'industrialization of culture' he dreamed of, using this achievement as a stepping stone. Earlier, after the news of Parasite's Cannes Film Festival win, during a CJ ENM business report, Chairman Lee briefly remarked, "The 25 years of investment were not in vain," and "I am convinced that the judgment to believe in and choose the talent and passion of Korean youth was not wrong."

For Chairman Lee, who entered the cultural industry in 1995, Parasite became a symbolic 'work.' His steadfastness, investing despite losses for over 20 years, created today's Parasite miracle. It is evaluated that CJ has seized two rabbits?the leap to a cultural enterprise and the historic first Academy Award win in 101 years of Korean film history. At that time in 1995, CJ (CJ CheilJedang) had sales slightly over 1 trillion KRW, but last year, the group's total sales grew to about 30 trillion KRW, evolving into a global company introducing Korean culture and food worldwide.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The cultural business started with the investment in DreamWorks. In 1995, Chairman Lee invested 356.4 billion KRW (300 million USD) in DreamWorks, a newly established Hollywood studio. At that time, CJ had just separated from Samsung Group. As a young CEO in his 30s (then Executive Director of CJ CheilJedang), Chairman Lee boldly invested a huge amount exceeding 20% of CJ CheilJedang's annual sales to transform into a global cultural company. As a major shareholder, he held the Asian regional rights besides dividends, facing strong opposition from management. He was criticized for a management blunder. However, Chairman Lee did not compromise, firmly believing that 'culture is the future.'

In 1997, he started the broadcasting business, and in 1998, he stepped into the movie multiplex business. In 2000, he established an entertainment company, and further in 2011, he created CJ ENM, the only comprehensive content company in Korea. After enhancing content production and distribution capabilities through DreamWorks, he is pursuing the dream of producing content directly, changing movie-watching culture through multiplexes, and entering the global market with cultural products.

Since 'Inshallah' in 1997, Chairman Lee has invested in over 320 Korean films. He laid the foundation for the industrialization of Korean cinema as an 'investment distributor,' a concept unfamiliar domestically. The total investment in the entertainment sector has exceeded 7.5 trillion KRW.

This steadfastness made CJ a leading cultural company encompassing not only films but also broadcasting, music, and overall culture. Moreover, the globalization of Korean cuisine is also his goal. To this end, CJ Group conducted its largest M&A ever, surpassing the 1.98 trillion KRW acquisition of Korea Express in 2011. The protagonist was the acquisition of Sempio Company for 2.0881 trillion KRW. Following the spread of Hallyu culture through KCON, the world's largest Korean wave convention, and MAMA, Asia's largest music festival, CJ plans to focus the group's core capabilities on the global expansion of Korean food culture.

Chairman Lee's dream is for people worldwide to watch 2 to 3 Korean films annually, eat Korean food 1 to 2 times monthly, watch 1 to 2 Korean dramas weekly, and listen to 1 to 2 Korean songs daily, enjoying Korean culture in their daily lives. Films invested by CJ have won Academy Awards, and dramas are introduced worldwide via Netflix. 'KCON,' which introduces Korean music to the Americas, Latin America, and Europe, has attracted over 1 million cumulative attendees, creating a K-pop craze. In New York, USA, CJ opened the Korean restaurant 'Bibigo Restaurant.' CJ, at the forefront of K-culture, is turning Chairman Lee's dream into reality.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.