April 24, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR]  CJ Vice Chairwoman Miky Lee, also known as Lee Mie-kyung, made a rare public appearance at the Mnet Asian Music Awards last week, raising speculations that her return to group’s management is imminent. 

Lee attended the annual music festival MAMA, organized by CJ E&M, the group’s entertainment arm, and met with actors and singers who participated in the event, according to media reports on Dec. 6. 

Lee, who had been overseeing CJ E&M, took a sudden break from her post in 2014 and left for the US, citing deteriorating health. It was rumored the government had a hand in Lee’s leave, her “crime” was airing TV shows and films with liberal political leanings or content satirizing President Park Geun-hye. 

Since then, Lee had not appeared at any of CJ E&M’s central events including the MAMA and KCON -- an annual K-pop convention held in the US and Japan. 

On Dec.6, CJ Group co-Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik, who is Lee’s uncle, admitted that he was pressed by Cho Won-dong, a former senior presidential secretary, to oust Lee. “I was told it was the president’s will,” Sohn said at a parliamentary hearing. 

Previously, Cho had stated to the prosecution that he had pressed CJ to get rid of Lee. 

As Lee’s uncle, Sohn took the helm of CJ Group in 2013 while his nephew CJ Chairman Lee Jay-hyun was serving a prison term for embezzlement. 

Jay-hyun was granted a special pardon in August, and is expected to return to management next year. Industry watchers are now speculating that his elder sister Miky Lee will also resume her post, but a CJ Group official said it was “too early to comment on her return.”

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)