Sung-Joo Kim

Chief Visionary & Sustainability Officer /
Chairperson of MCM Group

Sungjoo Group, founded in 1990, has earned a reputation as Korea’s leading force in fashion, having successfully launched globally renowned brands including Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Sonia Rykiel, and Marks & Spencer. In 2005, the Group acquired MCM, a German luxury fashion house established in Munich in 1976, marking a major milestone in Korean-led global brand stewardship.

Ms. Kim was selected as a Global Leader of Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum in Davos (1997) and received the Ethics in Business Award from the European Union (2009). In 2012, she was listed in Forbes’ Top 50 Asian Business Women, named one of Fortune’s Asia’s 25 Hottest CEOs, and invited by the United Nations to join the “Innovation 101” initiative at the Decide Now Act Summit.

She was awarded the Honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in 2015 for her contributions to UK–Korea bilateral relations. Most recently, in June 2025, she was bestowed the Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy by the President of the Italian Republic in recognition of her cultural and economic contributions between Italy and Korea.

Ms. Kim holds honorary doctorate degrees from Amherst College (USA), Business School Lausanne (Switzerland), and University of the Arts London (UK). She served as President of the Korean Red Cross from 2014 to 2017. In 2013, she became the first female entrepreneur appointed to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), representing Korea at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) until 2017. She was also appointed to the Advisory Board of the Fashion Council Germany in 2017.

A committed philanthropist, Ms. Kim actively supports several non-profit and cultural organizations, including Asia House (UK) as a trustee and the Global Summit of Women, where she has long served as a member of the International Planning Committee. Her work continues to focus on women’s empowerment, inter-cultural dialogue, and sustainability on a global scale.