Lee Jay-hyun, Chairman of CJ Group, visited the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to push for expansion into the Middle Eastern market. This is his first visit to the Middle East in about a year since his official invitation from the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Culture in September last year. Since declaring its entry into the global visual media industry in 1995 and building nearly 30 years of global business experience, CJ Group’s move is seen as an effort to use the UAE as a base to make the Middle East a new growth arena for K-culture.

CJ Group announced on the 17th that Chairman Lee visited the UAE for about a week starting from the 6th (local time). Following Japan in April, the United States in August, and the United Kingdom in September, the group chose the Middle East as the final destination for this year’s on-site global management activities. Joining him on this trip were Vice Chairwoman Miky Lee of CJ, CJ Corporation CEO Kim Hong-ki, CJ ENM CEO Yoon Sang-hyun, and Lee Sun-ho, head of CJ’s Future Strategy Group.

The local schedule focused on broadening points of contact for business cooperation with key figures in the UAE government. Chairman Lee met with Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Affairs Authority and CEO of the sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, to discuss cooperation plans in the cultural and economic sectors. He also met with Mohamed Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism, and Abdullah Al Hammadi, Chairman of the UAE National Media Office. The meetings covered potential local collaboration and business strategies across cultural fields including media, content, tourism, and sports.

Chairman Lee also met with local executives and employees to review growth strategies for halal food. He stated, “In the Middle Eastern market, which has high potential, K-wave must never be missed as an opportunity to create new growth engines,” adding, “To leap forward as a global company that leads the lifestyle of people around the world, the group must have a strong sense of urgency about growth and commit fully to expanding new territories.”

Chairman Lee’s activities align with CJ Group’s plan to use the UAE as a base to expand K-culture across the entire Middle East. The UAE is regarded as a key geographic hub linking the Middle East and Africa (MENA) market with a population of about 600 million. According to KOTRA, more than half of the population are under 30 and are part of the digital generation, making them highly receptive to global trends. K-beauty and K-food are showing steep growth in the UAE. From January to September this year, Korea’s cosmetics exports to the UAE reached USD 190 million, up 59.7% year-on-year. From January to October this year, Korea’s agricultural and food exports to the UAE amounted to USD 275 million, an increase of 23.2% from the same period last year.

CJ Olive Young entered the Middle Eastern beauty market in 2022, led by its in-house cosmetics brand “Wakemake.” Last month, it signed an MOU with Life Healthcare Group (LHG), a leading UAE healthcare distributor, for K-beauty distribution cooperation. CJ CheilJedang entered Lulu Hypermarket, the second-largest supermarket chain in the UAE, in 2015 with Bibigo dumplings, kimchi, and seaweed snacks. Last month, it signed an MOU with local UAE company Al Khayat Investments (AKI) for K-food distribution and related cooperation.

Leveraging Chairman Lee’s on-site management activities, CJ Group plans to expand its scope of operations across key businesses in the Middle East, including food, entertainment, and beauty.

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