Chairman Lee Unveils New Vision
CJ Group chairman Lee Jae-hyun has unveiled a plan to invest 10 trillion won in four major growth engine areas by 2023 to drive innovation and future growth. It is the first time in 11 years that Lee has come to the forefront and presented his vision.
Lee appeared in an in-house broadcast program to share his vision with the group employees. He said CJ will invest more than 10 trillion won in the four major growth drivers -- culture, platforms, wellness and sustainability -- over the next two years.
In particular, it plans to invest 4.3 trillion won in securing intangible assets such as brands, future innovative technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), big data and people of talent, and digital transformation centered on AI. "The company’s investment focus will shift from visible facilities to intangible assets," a CJ official explained,
Lee also sketched out the directions of the four major business areas. In the cultural field, CJ CheilJedang will focus on fostering global strategic products such as dumplings, chicken, and K sauce, using its global Korean food brand Bibigo.
The entertainment business division will speed up its penetration of the global market by establishing specialized multi-studios by genre, following Studio Dragon.
In the platform sector, which includes over the top (OTT) and logistics services, the company will build its own "super platform" ecosystem.
With regard to the wellness business, Lee suggested the goal of expanding Red Bio (pharmaceuticals and medical services) centered on next-generation treatments.
"We will achieve 70 percent of the group's sales growth in the four major growth engine areas within three years," a CJ official said.
Lee said that CJ’s growth has been stunted. After declaring itself as an independent company in 1995, CJ has focused on four major business areas -- food, biotech and life science, media and entertainment, and distribution and logistics. However, in the past three to four years, domestic and foreign platform companies such as Naver, Coupang, and Amazon have aggressively expanded their presences, slowing down CJ’s growth.
"We will use all measures to achieve our goals, including in-house venture startups, CICs, spinoffs, and IPOs," Lee said. "We will make CJ a company where talented people want to work and grow together with the company. I have strong will to make it happen."