Forbes Korea, Cover Story Father and daughter

Cover Story / Father and Daughter

Chairperson Sung-Joo Kim, ‘Like Father, Like Daughter’

Inherited the ‘Entrepreneur’s DNA’ which is more precious than money

Even though she was born as a daughter into a chaebol family, she chose her own way without depending on her family’s wealth. She did not receive any inheritance or even school expenses from her father. However, she did receive one thing. It was the ‘Entrepreneur’s DNA’ which would prove more precious than any kind of inheritance.

- Written by Reporter Sohn Yongseok / soncine@joongang.co.kr / Photographed by Reporter Jeong Chiho

“I am at Heathrow Airport in Britain now, because I had a meeting with the president of Harrods department store yesterday. Until the mid-1990s, MCM was more popular than Louis Vuitton at Harrods. However, as the main office faced difficult situations, the store was closed. Since MCM has obtained popularity again since we acquired it, I had a positive meeting with the president of Harrods regarding the reopening of the store.”

On the evening of May 18^th, Chairperson Sung-Joo Kim (55) of Sungjoo Group got a phone call at Heathrow Airport in London. She was on her way to Germany after finishing her business trip in Britain. With laughter, she said, “I travel by air more than 80 times a year. I think that I need to hire a CEO for doing this, since I feel exhausted.”