[THE INVESTOR] Lee Myung-hee still reigns supreme as the chairwoman of South Korean retail giant Shinsegae Group. But it is her children now who lead the group’s two pillars: Chung Yong-jin of big-box retailer chain E-mart and Chung Yoo-kyung of Shinsegae Department Stores.

 

In April, they made news when the conglomerate announced that the brother-sister duo have decided to swap the shares they own in each other’s units.

Shinsegae Vice Chairman Yong-jin runs E-mart as well the group’s food and television shopping divisions, and Starbucks Korea, while his younger sister Yoo-kyung -- as president of the department store unit -- is in charge of managing the department and duty-free stores.

In addition to taking over the core business from her mother, she has also inherited her quiet management style. Yoo-kyung is said to come to work every day to oversee the business but has never made any public appearance, staying out of the public eye entirely.

Her mother has also hardly been in the spotlight. It was the first time in 23 years that she appeared to unveil the renovated main branch of Shinsegae department store in 2007.

Yong-jin, however, does not shy away from the media spotlight: he not only holds media conferences and talks to his employees, but is also quite active online. His postings on his social media accounts range from new products and business plans to his pet.

“They are different in style, but that does not mean they are on bad terms,” company sources told local media. Adding that “unlike some chaebol families they are quite close. Before the vice chairman remarried, his sister participated in school events,” for children from his previous marriage to actress Ko Hyung-jung.

By Hwang You-mee (glamazon@heraldcorp.com)