South Korea's entertainment giant CJ Group is set to speed up investment and business projects starting in March, as its chief is set to begin full-fledged activities after being released from prison by a pardon last year, industrial watchers said Sunday.
CJ Chairman Lee Jae-hyun was released by a special presidential pardon in August. He was indicted in 2013 on charges of embezzlement and tax evasion, and was given 2 1/2 years in jail last year.
In order to normalize its businesses, CJ Group said earlier it will invest some 5 trillion won (US$4.42 billion) this year, hovering far above the 1.9 trillion won allocated in 2016.
"Starting in March, we plan to speed up the normalization of the management by personnel and organization restructuring, along with investment and employment," a CJ Group official said.
"Lee's health has been improving, and as there are major investment projects and global businesses that need to be handled directly by the owner, Lee is expected to take charge in the first half," the official added.
CJ Group saw its sales reach 31 trillion won last year, marking the first time they hovered above 30 trillion won.
The conglomerate currently plans to post a revenue of 40 trillion won this year, with the total to reach 100 trillion in 2020. (Yonhap)