Ham Yeong-jun, CEO and Chairman of Ottogi, recently announced that his eldest daughter and musical actress Ham Yeon-ji has officially joined Ottogi as a full-time employee.
On the 24th, Yonhap News reported that according to industry sources, Ham joined Ottogi America, Ottogi's U.S. subsidiary, this month and is currently working in marketing. It is also reported that she had been working as an intern at Ottogi America since early this year.
This is the first time Ham has joined Ottogi as a full-time employee. Unlike her older brother Ham Yoon-sik, who joined Ottogi in 2021 and works in management, Ham studied acting at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and has been active in South Korea as a musical actress and YouTuber.
Speculation about Ham’s involvement in Ottogi’s management began last year. Since 2019, Ham has operated a YouTube channel called "Ham Yeon-ji," where she introduced Ottogi products and shared her daily life, actively communicating with fans. However, in December last year, she posted a video titled "Thank you all this time," announcing her retirement from YouTube activities.
In that video, Ham said, "I am deeply considering how to effectively promote Korean food in the U.S. market." This led to speculation that she might be stepping into a management role. In January this year, she was spotted attending the "Winter Fancy Food Show 2024," the largest food expo in the U.S., touring booths, which further fueled these expectations.
These moves by Ham are being analyzed as the beginning of her formal management training. She is also a shareholder of Ottogi, owning 1.07% of the company’s shares.
Meanwhile, Ham’s husband, Kim Jae-woo, joined Ottogi in 2018 but is currently on leave studying in the U.S. In November last year, Ottogi appointed Kim Kyung-ho, Ham’s father-in-law and former LG Electronics Vice President, as Vice President and Head of the Global Business Division. With Kim’s appointment, Ottogi upgraded its Global Business Department to a Global Business Division, which is interpreted as a move to accelerate its overseas business, considered a weak point for the company.
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