Great-granddaughter of Kim Gu marries son of Thailand's top business tycoon

Grandson of Baekbeom, Kim Hwi's second daughter marries friend met during US studies
Groom's mother, special advisor to CP Group, also Korean descent... 2nd generation ties to Korea

On the 26th, the great-granddaughter of Baekbeom Kim Gu (right) and the son of the chairman of Thailand's CP Group at their wedding in Bangkok, Thailand. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] The great-granddaughter of Baekbeom Kim Gu and the son of the chairman of Thailand's top conglomerate have married.

On the 28th, a CP Group (Charoen Pokphand Group) official announced that Supakit Chirawanon, the eldest son of Chairman Supakit Chirawanon, married the second daughter of the late Kim Hwi, grandson of Kim Gu, on the 26th at a hotel in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. Founded in 1921, CP Group owns food company 'CP Food,' telecommunications company 'True,' retail sector 'CP All,' and Thailand's 7-Eleven, among others. Last year, the group's revenue was estimated to exceed $65 billion (87 trillion KRW).

The newlyweds had been friends since their study abroad days in the United States, thanks to the long-standing friendship between their mothers, and finally tied the knot. The groom's mother is of Korean descent and, like the bride, met Chairman Supakit during her studies in the U.S. and married him. Marisa (Korean name Kang Suhyung), a special advisor to CP Group, was born in Korea and completed high school there before moving to the U.S. to study at New York University. Thus, CP Group has welcomed a Korean bride for the second generation in a row.

The groom graduated from Harvard University in the U.S. and worked as an analyst at a Swiss financial firm before becoming the CEO of 'Makro,' a large supermarket subsidiary of CP Group. The bride graduated from Wellesley College in the U.S. and is reported to have worked at an IT company in Singapore. About 1,000 guests from Korea and Thailand attended the wedding on the 26th, and congratulations were also extended from the Thai royal family.

Kim Gu had two sons and three daughters with his wife Choi Junrye, but his daughters died young, and his eldest son Kim In also passed away at the young age of 29 from tuberculosis in 1945. Therefore, except for Kim Hyoja, the daughter and eldest granddaughter of the eldest son Kim In, all of Kim Gu's descendants are from his second son Kim Shin. Baekbeom's second son Kim Shin assisted his father during his lifetime and later served as the 6th Chief of Staff of the Air Force, a member of the National Assembly, and Minister of Transportation. Among Kim Shin's four children (three sons and one daughter), the third son and father of the bride, the late Kim Hwi, served as director of Nara Planning, executive at McCann Erickson, and CEO of the advertising agency Abley. The bride's mother is the daughter of the late Han Sangtae, former Director of the Western Pacific Regional Office of the World Health Organization (WHO).