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Sung-Joo Kim, Chairperson and CEO of Sungjoo Group/MCM Products AG, officially presents a US$1 million cheque to Global Summit of Women President Irene Natividad. The financial pledge will run over the course of ten years |
INTERNATIONAL. The Sungjoo Foundation is a new philanthropic initiative founded by Korean businesswoman Sung-Joo Kim, owner of the MCM luxury leathergoods brand.
The new foundation is committed to enabling women to realise their potential through education and mentoring, and by supporting charitable causes. It was launched on 21 May at the Global Summit of Women 2010 in Beijing in the presence of 1,000 global women leaders, dignitaries and press from more than 90 nations.
Simultaneously with its launchthe Sungjoo Foundation pledged a donation of US$1 million to the Global Summit of Women over the course of ten years in its aim to develop the next generation of women leaders.
The official announcement was made during the Global Women’s Leadership Awards Gala Dinner on 21 May at the Marriott City Wall Hotel in Beijing, China, by Sung-Joo Kim, Chairperson & CEO of Sungjoo Group/MCM Products AG and founder of the Sungjoo Foundation.
During the evening she officially presented a US$1 million cheque to the Global Summit of Women President Irene Natividad in the presence of Hon. Chen Zhili, Chair of the All-China Women’s Federation.
“The Sungjoo Foundation will be dedicated to creating the next generation of women leaders worldwide and will focus on China to help establish a prosperous and peaceful global community in the 21st century,” she said.
The Beijing event was the largest in the Summit’s 20-year history and was the first time the annual gathering took place in mainland China, co-hosted with China NGO Network for International Exchanges (CNIE). The event was attended by global leaders from all sectors of society, including Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden Hon. Maud Olofsson, Vice President of Vietnam Hon. Nguyen Thi Doan, Chile Minister for Women Hon. Carolina Schmidt, First Lady of Tanzania Salma Kikwete, and 250 women leaders from China such as senior government officials, top executives and CEOs.
Global Summit of Women and Sungjoo Group celebrate 20th anniversaries
The US$1 million pledge also comes during a year which marks the 20th anniversaries for both the Global Summit of Women and Sungjoo Group, making this event all the more memorable.
Additionally Sungjoo Group’s flagship brand, MCM, donated conference bags to all Summit participants, as it has done every year. MCM also hosted a pop-up store during the Summit, as well as a Design Show showcasing its Spring/Summer 2010 collection to many global leaders and Chinese press.
MCM also collaborated with internationally renowned Brazilian neo-pop artist and artistic activist Romero Britto to produce a limited-edition scarf in honor of both Sungjoo Group and the Global Summit of Women’s 20th anniversaries. The pure silk scarf collection consists of two scarf designs which were sold during the Summit; the proceeds went to the Global Summit of Women.
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Sung-Joo Kim is pictured in Beijing with women leaders from all over Asia, including China, Japan and Mongolia |
About the Global Summit of Women
The Global Summit of Women (GSW) is a Washington DC-based non-governmental organisation established in 1990 by Summit President Irene Natividad. The annual Summit meeting has been held every year since 1997, always in a different country around the world. The GSW was conceived as the nexus at which all sectors – public, private and non-profit – would come together under the common vision of dramatically expanding women’s economic opportunities globally through exchanges of working solutions and creative strategies forged by women leaders in different parts of the world. It is a business Summit, whose focus is women’s advancement in the global economy.
About Sung-Joo Kim and Sungjoo Group
Sung-Joo Kim is the Founder of Sungjoo Group and also Chairperson of MCM Products AG. She began her career at Bloomingdale’s in 1985 and started her own fashion company in 1990. She has successfully launched globally renowned brands such as Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Sonia Rykiel and Marks & Spencer as exclusive franchisees for the Korean market. Sungjoo Group operates more than 100 retail stores for MCM and Marks & Spencer in Korea, and also acquired the global business of German luxury goods brand MCM in 2005.
Sung-Joo Kim was selected as one of the “Global Leaders of Tomorrow” by the World Economic Forum (Davos/Switzerland, 1997) and was additionally designated as one of the “7 Most Powerful Women in Asia” by Asiaweek (Hong Kong, 2001). Sung-Joo Kim was also ranked among the “Top 50 Women to Watch” by the Wall Street Journal (Global Edition, 2004). In 2009 she was awarded the Ethics in Business Award from the International Association of Human Values (European Parliament/Brussels, 2009) and named Special Entrepreneur of the Year at the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards (Seoul, 2009).
As a successful businesswoman with a strong sense of corporate social responsibility, Sung-Joo Kim is actively involved in non-profit charity and cultural organisations, including Save the Children (as a Board Director for Korea) and many others.
Sungjoo Group is the owner of German luxury brand MCM, one of the leading fashion and luxury goods groups in the world today with over 600 direct employees and 300 points of distribution worldwide. It designs, manufactures, distributes and retails fashion and lifestyle products including leather goods, apparel, accessories, eyewear, watches and jewellery under the brand name of MCM. MCM has over 254 distribution points worldwide and most recently expanding its presence in China in the cities of Beijing and Shanghai. The brand’s exclusive distribution network comprises seven directly operated stores, and 200 points of sale in 31 countries. The MCM brand was acquired by Sungjoo Group in 2005.
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