Early Life
Lee Su-jin was born in Chungju, South Korea, in February 1978. He experienced a challenging upbringing, becoming an orphan at a young age and being raised by his grandparents. During his elementary school years, he faced difficulties with reading and writing. However, he persevered and graduated from Doowon Technical High School.
Rise to Success
Lee's career path took an unexpected turn after experiencing financial setbacks in the stock market. He worked in a love hotel, starting as a janitor and eventually rising to a management position. In 2004, he launched a website called "Motel Story" to share his insights on the hospitality industry. This website gained popularity, with over 10,000 subscribers. He acquired another website, "Motel Tour", in 2005, which further expanded his presence in the industry. This success set the foundation for Yanolja, which was established around 2005-2007.
Key Business Strategies
The creation of Yanolja, a travel superapp, was a pivotal move in Lee Su-jin's career. Yanolja quickly expanded from short-stay hotels to include transportation and cloud-computing software designed to help hotels and travel companies digitize business processes. Lee's business acumen and strategic investments, including SoftBank's Vision Fund 2's $1.7 billion investment in 2021, significantly boosted Yanolja's valuation.
Philanthropy
While specific details on Lee Su-jin's philanthropy are not readily available in the search results, his purchase of a house in Seocho-dong, Seoul, in 2024, indicates his financial standing and ability to contribute to various initiatives.