Park Jae-hyuk is a seasoned journalist who has provided comprehensive coverage of South Korea's corporate dynamics, economic policies, industry challenges and the global positioning of Korean companies. Based on the articles he has written since joining The Korea Times in 2016, his investigative approach has helped readers understand corporate governance, economic trends and business strategies shaping South Korea’s economy.
Heiresses come from consulting firms
By Park Jae-hyuk
Chey Yun-jeong, the oldest daughter of SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won
By Park Jae-hyuk
Suh Min-jung, the oldest daughter of AmorePacific Chairman Suh Kyung-bae
The SK Group heiress followed suit of many other chaebol heiresses in that she joined her family business after graduating from a U.S. university and working for a consulting firm.
Chey Yun-jeong, the oldest daughter of SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, recently started working as a manager at SK Biopharmaceuticals, which has something to do with her previous job experience, the group said.
After graduating from the International School of Beijing, the 28-year-old studied biology at the University of Chicago and finished an internship program at Harvard University’s physics and chemistry lab.
She also worked as a consultant at Bain & Company from 2015 until this January.
Such a background, which would be otherworldly for most people, is actually not rare for daughters of Korean tycoons these days.
Most of them study abroad and build their careers at consulting firms before succeeding their family businesses. This compares to most male heirs, who tend to begin working for their parent-owned companies right after graduation.
Suh Min-jung, the oldest daughter of AmorePacific Chairman Suh Kyung-bae, also started working at Bain & Company in 2015 after graduating from Cornell University. The 26-year-old has been working for the cosmetics maker’s manufacturing plant in Osan, Gyeonggi Province, since this January.
Mirae Asset Financial Group Chairman Park Hyeon-joo’s two daughters went through similar paths.
His oldest daughter Park Ha-min, who got aboard Mirae Asset Global Investments in 2013, graduated from Cornell and worked at McKinsey Consulting and U.S. real estate consulting firm CBRE for a year each.
Park Eun-min, the chairman’s youngest daughter, has worked as a junior consultant at Boston Consulting Group Korea as well, after finishing studies at Duke University.
Hansol Group Vice President Cho Yeon-joo, who is great-granddaughter of the late Samsung Group founder Lee Byung-chul, also studied at Wellesley University and worked at Boston Consulting Group.
Analysts say Korean conglomerates have been attracted by opportunities of building social connections at consulting firms and overseas universities.
Because consultants meet executives at various companies, the heiresses can build their social networks in a short time. Universities in the United States can be a place to make global personal connections.
Moreover, the high-paying jobs in the consulting firms can justify the heiresses’ high salaries at their family-owned companies.
Of note is whether the abovementioned young heiresses will actually grab the management rights of the country’s major groups. Thus far, power transfers typically take place between fathers and sons. That has been possible because tycoons typically had sons when chaebol parents’ fertility rate was high just like that of the whole society.
But most incumbent chaebol owners have less than three children and many do not have sons.
Chaebol refers to Korea’s sprawling conglomerates in which founding families exercise almost unchecked control despite small direct shareholdings.