Seo Jung-jin (businessman)
{{Short description|South Korean billionaire (born 1957)}}
{{Family name hatnote|Seo|lang=Korean}}{{Infobox person
| name = Seo Jung-jin
| native_name = 서정진
| native_name_lang = en
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1957|10|23}}
| birth_place = Cheongjin, South Korea
| alma_mater = Konkuk University (BS, MBA)
| occupation = Chairman of Celltrion
| module = {{Infobox Korean name
|hangul=서정진
|hanja=徐廷珍{{Cite web|url=https://cdb.chosun.com/search/m-people/mchosun/people_beforeview.jsp?uci=G010+1-02142005051000258433|script-title=ko:서정진(徐廷珍), SEO JUNG JIN|access-date=2024-12-18|website=ChosunMedia}}
|rr=Seo Jeongjin
|mr=Sŏ Chŏngjin
|child=yes
}}
}}
Seo Jung-jin ({{Korean|hangul=서정진}}; born October 23, 1957{{Cite web |last=장 |first=은파 |date=2024-09-27 |title=[Who Is ?] 서정진 셀트리온그룹 회장 |url=https://businesspost.co.kr/BP?command=article_view&num=367078#:~:text=%EC%84%9C%EC%A0%95%EC%A7%84%EC%9D%80%20%EC%85%80%ED%8A%B8%EB%A6%AC%EC%98%A8%EA%B7%B8%EB%A3%B9%20%ED%9A%8C%EC%9E%A5,%EC%A7%81%EC%9E%A5%EC%83%9D%ED%99%9C%EC%9D%84%20%EC%8B%9C%EC%9E%91%ED%96%88%EB%8B%A4. |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=비즈니스포스트 |language=ko}}) is a South Korean businessman. He is among the richest people in South Korea, with Forbes giving his December 2024 net worth as US$7.2 billion and ranking him the third richest in the country.{{Cite web |title=Seo Jung-jin |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/seo-jung-jin/ |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=Forbes |language=en}} He is chairman and cofounder of the pharmaceutical company Celltrion.{{Cite web |last=Wang |first=Cat |date=2024-04-17 |title=Billionaire Founder Of Korean Biotech Giant Celltrion Comes Out Of Retirement To Fulfill Global Ambitions |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/catherinewang/2024/04/17/billionaire-founder-of-korean-biotech-giant-celltrion-comes-out-of-retirement-to-fulfill-global-ambitions/ |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=Forbes |language=en}}
Biography
He was born in Cheongju, South Korea on October 23, 1957. He graduated from {{Ill|Jemulpo High School|ko|제물포고등학교}}. He received Bachelor of Industrial Engineering and Master of Business Administration degrees from Konkuk University.
He began his career at Samsung Electronics. He then worked as a consultant for Daewoo Motors.
In 1999, he founded Nexol ({{Korean|hangul=넥솔|labels=no}}), a predecessor company to Celltrion, with ten of his colleagues from Daewoo Motors. He retired from the company in March 2021,{{Cite web |date=2023-03-03 |title=Celltrion founder Seo Jung-jin to return as board chairman of Celltrion Holdings |url=https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2023/03/03/business/industry/korea-celltrion/20230303171954179.html |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=Korea JoongAng Daily |language=en}} but returned as chairman in March 2023.
By 2023, he owned 97.2% of Celltrion Holdings, which in turn owned 23% of Celltrion, 55% of Celltrion Pharm, and 24.3% of Celltrion Healthcare.{{Cite web |date=2023-05-03 |title=Celltrion unsettled on reports founder has 2 extramarital daughters |url=https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2023/05/03/business/industry/Korea-Celltrion-Seo-Jungjin/20230503181235638.html |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=Korea JoongAng Daily |language=en}}
Personal life
Seo has two sons. His first son, Seo Jin-seok ({{Korean|hangul=서진석|labels=no}}), is chairman of the board at Celltrion and Celltrion Pharm. His second son, Seo Jun-suk ({{Korean|hangul=서준석|labels=no}}), is Celltrion Healthcare's chairman of the board. Their 2024 appointments to leadership positions in the company reportedly appeared to contradict a previous statement that he had made in 2019, where he claimed his intent was to have non-family members lead the company.{{Cite web |date=2024-01-03 |title=Owner family strengthens control of Celltrion |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/tech/2024/11/129_366262.html |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=The Korea Times |language=en}}
Seo was in a common-law relationship with a woman from 2001 to 2012. By 2023, she was reportedly CEO of Seorin Holdings and Seowon D&D, affiliates of Celltrion.{{Cite web |date=2023-05-04 |title=Celltrion chairman's shunned daughters seen as risk to company governance |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/tech/2024/12/129_350412.html |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=The Korea Times |language=en}} He had two daughters with this woman, although their relationship became strained and they fell out of contact. He paid child support to this woman; he alleged that she demanded more money from him, and that he filed a police report against her. In 2021, his family register was updated to include these two daughters.