Perseverance was the key in achieving her long-cherished dream. After four failed attempts, president Lee Boo-jin of Hotel Shilla, a Samsung Group affiliate of luxury hotels and duty-free shops, is finally on her way to build a hotel in the style of a traditional Korean house, or hanok.

Following a March 2 approval from the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Lee plans to build the hanok hotel adjacent to Shilla Seoul hotel in Jung-gu, central Seoul, after using parts of the hotel grounds to accommodate the new hotel, which is estimated to cost around 300 billion won ($246.2 million).


The facility is to span an area of 19,494 square meters. Upon its completion in 2022, it is expected to create up to 1,000 new jobs, according to Hotel Shilla.

Gaining government approval had proved difficult, because the new hotel will be on a site where construction is restricted for preservation purposes, just 30 meters away from Seoul’s 600-year-old fortress wall.

Yet, after lengthy negotiations, Lee Boo-jin achieved her vision.

Lee Boo-jin’s business drive

Lee Boo-jin’s latest success adds to her growing list of accomplishments.

Since her promotion to head Hotel Shilla in 2011, she won rights to operate duty-free shops in various areas such as in HDC I-park in Yongsan and in Singapore Changi Airport last year. In 2013, she renovated Hotel Shilla after more than three decades. Before that, the CEO persuaded Louis Vuitton to set up its first airport outlet at Incheon International Airport in 2010. Louis Vuitton had rejected similar offers for years.

The Hotel Shilla chief has shown more than once that she has an entrepreneurial drive parallel to that shown by her father, Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee.

In fact, the junior Lee is known to be most similar to her father among her siblings.

Not only do they share physical similarities, but are noted for their adventurous personalities and aggressive management styles. Lee Boo-jin has even often been referred to as “Little Lee Kun-hee.”

With the recent approval on the hanok-style hotel, industry insiders are saying Lee has gained a firmer grasp on the local hospitality and duty-free industries.

Lee Boo-jin’s total net worth, including a 5.5 percent stake at Samsung C&T and a 3.9 percent stake at Samsung SDS, is estimated at 2.15 trillion won, making her the country’s ninth-wealthiest businessperson.

Luxury brands promote cultural heritage

Lee’s determination to build a hanok hotel could help promote Korea’s hanok heritage, but other luxury brands have gone further to help preserve cultural heritage.

French luxury goods conglomerate LVMH’s luxury fashion house Fendi invested 2.2 million euros ($2.5 million) for the restoration of the famed Trevi Fountain in Rome in 2013. LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault also invested 100 million euros last year to help promote Italian cultural heritage.
Others such as Tod’s invested 25 million euros in 2011 to help restore Rome’s Coliseum.

According to the Financial Times, sales of global luxury goods increased by just 1 percent last year. Due to the slowdown in the Chinese economy, experts say it will be difficult to improve on that sluggish performance this year.

Despite the challenges, luxury brands appear determined to stay focused on cultural promotion.

For instance, Fendi has said it would continue to invest in the preservation of cultural heritage sites, which it considers likely to have a long-term significant influence on brand image.

By The Korea Herald Superrich Team (seoyounglee@heraldcorp.com)
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Hong Seung-wan
Cheon Ye-seon
Seo Jee-yeon
Yoon Hyun-jong
Min Sang-seek
Lee Seo-young