Lee Myung-hee (Korean: 이명희; born 5 September 1943[1]) is a South Korean business magnate and the chairwoman of the Shinsegae Group. She is the youngest daughter of Lee Byung-chul, founder of the Samsung Group and the sister of the former late chairman Lee Kun-Hee. Lee became the company's chairwoman in 1997 following its separation from Samsung and is credited for growing it into the country's second-largest retailer. With an estimated net worth of $840 million she is one of the wealthiest people in South Korea and was ranked 20th on Forbes 2017 list of 50 Richest Koreans.[1]
Lee Myung-hee
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Lee Myung-Hee in 2016
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| Born | (1943-09-05) 5 September 1943 (age 80)
Uiryeong, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea
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| Alma mater | Ewha Womans University |
| Occupation | ChairmanofShinsegae Group |
| Spouse | Chung Jae-eun |
| Children | 2, including Chung Yong-jin |
| Parent | Lee Byung-chul |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 이명희 |
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | Lee Myeonghui |
| McCune–Reischauer | I Myŏnghŭi |
Lee was born in Uiryeong County to Samsung founder Lee Byung-chul and his first wife Park Du-eul as the youngest of eight children. She attended Ewha Girls' High School and then majored in art at Ewha Womans University before marrying a Seoul National University and Columbia-educated engineer,[2] Chung Jae-eun, who served as the president of Samsung Electronics and is currently the honorary chairman of Shinsegae Group.[3] After ten years of being a homemaker, she became a sales executive at Shinsegae Department Store in 1979 and then its Chairwoman in 1997 after the company was separated from Samsung.[1]