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Hotel Shilla's head shows gratitude to staff

By Kim Ji-hyun and Kim So-hyun

Lee Boo-jin, the eldest daughter of Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee who is said to most strongly resemble her father in both looks and personality, was moved to tears by her staff, sources close to Hotel Shilla said.

The younger Lee, who is the president of the hotel, treated the entire hotel staff to lunch on Jan.10, a day after the birthday celebrations for her father were held on the hotel grounds last week.

All 500 of them, including bellboys and housekeepers were treated to a meal cooked by the hotel’s chefs, and in a switch of roles, the higher ranking employees, such as those of manager level and above, served their lower staff.

Lee also became tearful when she thanked the staff for their hard work at the hotel before she bid them goodbye for the next seven to eight months as the hotel will temporarily shut down for a facelift starting that day, the sources said.

Lee Boo-jin, 44, took over the helm of Hotel Shilla in December of 2010, based on the strong performance she showed at the hotel in previous years. One of her major feats as hotel management was winning the contract from Louis Vuitton allowing Shilla Duty Free to open one of its shops in Incheon International Airport; it was the first store the French brand opened in an airport duty free area.

The hotel has now closed most of its operations to undergo major remodeling of its facilities that are more than thirty years old.

Some of the staff were given paid holidays, while others will be taking training courses or working at Parkview, a sister hotel, or Shilla’s Jeju branch until the re-opening on Aug.1, the hotel said.

(jemmie@heraldcorp.com) (sophie@heraldcorp.com)