Jung Yong-jin: "Having Many Antis Is Proof of Many 'True Fans'... Cooking Is a Hobby, Management Is Destiny"

"Don't Combine Emart and Cooking"
"Dominate Offline and Check Online Through Gmarket"

"Management is my destiny, and cooking is my hobby. What if cooking becomes my destiny? That would be a big problem."

This is a video of Chung Yong-jin, Vice Chairman of Shinsegae Group, the 11th largest conglomerate in South Korea, cooking and talking. On the 18th, Yonhap News released a video showing Vice Chairman Chung making his signature dish, chili crab, by kneading dough, adding sauce, and using a Chinese wok.

Cooking Jung Yong-jin "Management is destiny and cooking is a hobby"
[Photo by Yonhap News YouTube capture]

He often posts photos on his Instagram of himself cooking and serving guests. He has invited various celebrities such as mixed martial artist Choo Sung-hoon, singer Lee Seung-gi, TV personality Noh Hong-chul, and soccer player Park Ji-sung to his cooking studio to treat them. His Instagram, with over 835,000 followers, actively receives likes and comments on his videos.

Vice Chairman Chung said, "Cooking is all about eyeballing it," and added, "(Cooking) is enjoyable because people eat it deliciously. Please don't associate cooking with E-Mart. (Cooking is) a hobby." He continued, "If I didn't cook, I would just laze around at home or meet people and entertain them at a barbecue restaurant, but this life is much better." When asked which he prefers between management and cooking, he laughed and said, "It's not a matter of choosing one over the other."

It is known that Vice Chairman Chung started cooking about five years ago. His wife, flutist Han Ji-hee, who saw his fondness for inviting acquaintances to dine together, encouraged him to try cooking when he felt lonely. It is said that he started with jokbal (pig's trotters) and then developed his main menu to include Chinese dishes such as Hainan chicken, egg spring rolls, and sweet and sour pork.

Jung Yong-jin: "Having many antis is actually a very happy thing"
Photo by Yonhap News YouTube Capture

According to Yonhap News YouTube videos and others, Vice Chairman Chung believes that third- and fourth-generation owners and managers should come out into the world like him and actively communicate with the public. This is why he builds intimacy with netizens on social media. For the same reason, he revealed his children’s appearances at his wife Han Ji-hee’s flute recital held at the Seoul Arts Center on December 23 last year.

While some people express familiarity by calling him "Yongjin hyung" (Brother Yongjin), his words and phrases such as "myeolgong" (anti-communism) sometimes spark controversy.

Regarding this, he said, "Having many haters is a very happy thing," and added, "The more haters there are, the more 'true fans' there are." He continued, "Honestly, having many true fans doesn’t really benefit me much. Sometimes, having haters is more comfortable," and concluded, "I have many true fans, and I’m thankful."

Vice Chairman Jung Yong-jin's family
Photo by Yonhap News

However, some argue that instead of focusing on communication with the public, he should concentrate on improving the performance of major affiliates such as E-Mart as the CEO of Shinsegae Group. This is because Shinsegae’s major companies experienced considerable ups and downs last year.

According to the electronic disclosure system, E-Mart’s provisional total sales for the past year shrank by 2.1% compared to the same period last year, amounting to 16.5494 trillion won, and the same-store sales growth rate declined by 0.9%. Sales decreased by 2.6% at discount stores (E-Mart), 0.4% at Traders, and 0.3% at specialty stores (No Brand).

Regarding E-Mart’s recent poor performance, Vice Chairman Chung said, "E-Mart must do well," and added, "The world is divided into online and offline. My goal is to dominate the offline market, and I will also enter the online market through Gmarket while keeping it in check."