Daesang Group heiress promoted to vice chairwoman

By Kim Bo-eun

Lim Se-ryung

Daesang Group promoted owner family heiress Lim Se-ryung to vice chairwoman of the group and holding company, Friday. Lim was formerly executive director of the group that operates businesses in food products.

As vice chairwoman, Lim will be in charge of strategy for Daesang Holdings and of marketing for Daesang Group.

Lim, born in 1977, is the eldest daughter of group Chairman Lim Chang-wook and granddaughter of the group's late founder Lim Dae-hong. She is the second-largest shareholder of Daesang Holdings, owning 20.41 percent of shares. The largest shareholder is her younger sister, Daesang's executive director of strategy Lim Sang-min.

The vice chairwoman studied management at Yonsei University and majored in psychology at New York University. She became Daesang's creative director in December 2012, and oversaw the managing of food brands, planning, marketing and design. She has been in charge of marketing after being promoted to executive director of the group in 2016.

The heiress has been recognized for strengthening Daesang's Chungjungone food brand via a major renewal in 2014 to better appeal to younger consumers. In 2016, Chungjungone launched a line of ready-made products to be enjoyed with alcoholic beverages, becoming a pioneer of a new market for such products. In addition, Lim was behind the launching of the first online-only brand for a food conglomerate in 2017.

"We have been seeking to revamp the company's decision-making system and organizational structure to more effectively deal with changes in the market and push forward with quick and accurate strategies," a Daesang Holdings official said. "We have determined Lim as the right person to acquire information about changes in the market and execute plans accordingly."

Lim will also be in charge of communication and developing human resources.

Daesang Holdings appointed Lim as a board member of the company at its general shareholders' meeting, Friday.

Lim married Samsung leader Lee Jae-yong in 1998, but the two divorced in 2009.