Young chaebol scions pursue careers in entertainment
A granddaughter of Shinsegae Group Chairwoman Lee Myunghee, the youngest daughter of late Samsung Group founder Lee Byungchull, has drawn attention for recent photos that she took with other trainees of The Black Label, which signaled her forthcoming debut as a K-pop idol, according to industry officials, Tuesday.
Moon Seo-yoon, the oldest daughter of Chung Yoo-kyung, president of Shinsegae’s department store business, was posing in the group photos presumed to be taken at a dance practice room.
She is expected to debut as a girl group member of the YG Entertainment-affiliated label led by Teddy, who produced songs of BIGBANG and BLACKPINK, although both Shinsegae and The Black Label declined to confirm her debut.
The 21-year-old has already been known as an influencer, with over 70,000 Instagram followers, unlike her mother who has been rarely seen in public. In January last year, she was even rumored to be dating K-pop superstar G-Dragon.
Once Moon debuts as a K-pop idol, she will be a colleague of Loren, Naver founder Lee Hae-jin’s son, whose Korean name is Lee Seungjoo.
The 29-year-old, who debuted as a singer with The Black Label in 2020, has worked as a singer, producer, DJ and fashion model, in contrast to his father who has rarely been seen in public. He especially drew attention in 2020 for his appearance in the music video for BLACKPINK’s “Lovesick Girls.”
Ham Yon-ji, daughter of Ottogi Chairman Ham Young-joon, is another chaebol scion who started her career as an entertainer. The 31-year-old worked as a performer in musicals and as an influencer, making appearances in multiple dramas and television shows.
Last December, she all of a sudden decided to stop uploading video clips on her YouTube channel, raising speculation that she would start working for Ottogi to inherit control of the food firm from her father. Industry officials wonder whether the Shinsegae heiress and the Naver scion will also stop working as entertainers and take over management of their parents’ companies.
In the past, most heirs of owner families of large Korean companies avoided drawing public attention. Most of them also started their careers at consulting firms or affiliates of their family-owned companies, in order to learn requisite management skills.
A growing number of younger descendants of company founders, however, have disclosed their everyday lives through social media, even if they do not work as entertainers.