CJ Group Chairman Lee Jay-hyun, right, shakes hands with Michael Payne, a sports marketing expert, in London during a visit that began Sept. 9, the company said Sept. 22. [CJ GROUP]
CJ Group Chairman Lee Jay-hyun traveled to London earlier this month to oversee the conglomerate’s push into Europe, the company said Monday. He was joined by Vice Chair Miky Lee, CJ Corporation CEO Kim Hong-ki and CJ ENM CEO Yoon Sang-hyun.
At meetings with local executives, Lee called for faster global growth.
“To become a global leading company, we must speed up our territorial expansion, including in Europe,” he said. “After the United States, which serves as our global business hub, we should actively seek new growth opportunities in the European market, which holds great potential.”
Lee also urged the group to capture momentum from the global spread of Korean culture.
“We should not miss the expanding K-wave across Europe,” he said referring to hallyu, or the Korean wave.
“We must quickly gain a foothold in local markets and rise as a top-tier player across the continent. Europe should grow into the next strategic region after the United States, and we must accelerate our pace of global expansion,” the chairman added.
This marks Lee’s first time leading on-site management in Europe. He met with investors and entertainment industry experts during the visit, according to CJ.
He held talks with Len Blavatnik, founder of Access Industries, which owns Warner Music, to discuss trends in the global media and entertainment market. He also met Bronwen Maddox, director of think tank Chatham House, to review how shifts in trade and security could affect European business opportunities. In addition, Lee spoke with Michael Payne, CEO of Payne Sports Media Strategies, and other sports experts about how global consumer and content companies can use sports marketing.
Lee has been broadening his overseas management activities this year, with visits to Japan and the United States, after traveling to Saudi Arabia last year.
CJ established a food subsidiary in Germany in 2018 as part of its European push. The company plans to begin producing Bibigo dumplings at a plant in Hungary starting in the second half of 2026 for sale across the region.
A CJ official said the London visit reflects the group’s strategy to expand its global footprint across Asia, the Americas and Europe.
“We will strengthen differentiated competitiveness in the global market centered on our key businesses in food, beauty and entertainment,” the official said.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KANG KI-HEON [[email protected]]
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