RedCarpetLife
2431
In the world today
Lee Su-jin

Lee Su-jin

L. Su-jin
0% | + $0.00M
$1.59 B ₹ 14,426 Cr
Real Time Net Worth #2431 Ranking as of 21 Feb 2026 By Forbes

More on Lee Su-jin

Gender

Male

Age

48Y

Country

South Korea

Born On

January, 1978

Deceased

No

Relationship Status

Married

Children

Unknown

Education

Unknown

Designation Info :

Self-Made

Yes

Entrepreneur Type

Self-Made (Technology)

Primary Organization

Yanolja

Titles

Founder & CEO

Sources of Wealth

Yanolja

Industry

Technology, Travel, Hospitality, Software

About Lee Su-jin


L ee Su-jin is a South Korean tech entrepreneur and the founder of Yanolja, which translates to "Hey, let's play" in Korean. He is a self-made billionaire with a true rags-to-riches story. Orphaned as a child, he worked in a variety of low-wage jobs, including as a janitor in so-called "love hotels," to make ends meet. It was this experience that gave him the idea to transform the image and business model of South Korea's short-stay hotel industry. He started an online community for hotel operators before launching Yanolja as a hotel booking platform in 2007.

Under Lee's leadership, Yanolja has grown from a simple booking site for budget hotels into a comprehensive travel and hospitality super-app. The company offers bookings for a wide range of accommodations, leisure activities, and transportation. It has also become a major provider of cloud-based property management software to hotels, automating their operations. Yanolja has attracted significant investment from major global players, including SoftBank's Vision Fund 2 and Booking.com parent Booking Holdings, turning it into one of South Korea's most successful unicorns. Lee's journey from poverty to the helm of a tech giant is a source of inspiration in the country.

Advertisement

Quick Reads


  • Founder of Yanolja, South Korea's leading travel super-app.
  • Has a notable rags-to-riches background, having been orphaned as a child.
  • Worked as a janitor in love hotels, which inspired his business idea.
  • Grew Yanolja from a budget hotel booking site to a comprehensive travel platform.
  • The company also provides cloud-based software solutions to hospitality businesses.
  • Secured major funding from SoftBank's Vision Fund 2.

Early Life and Background


Lee Su-jin is a South Korean businessman, the self-made billionaire Founder and Executive Chairman of Yanolja (KRX: 304560), a major travel technology company and the largest online accommodation booking platform in South Korea. His career is rooted in extreme poverty and entrepreneurial resilience.

Lee's early life was marked by hardship: he was orphaned at a young age and grew up in poverty. He worked his way through school and served in the military. His career began humbly, working 100-day construction jobs and later cleaning love hotels (short-stay hotels) for four years, earning a meager wage.

  • Yanolja (Founder & Executive Chairman): The core publicly traded asset, the largest online accommodation booking platform in South Korea (valued at $9.6 billion in 2021).
  • Startup Struggles: He started his venture after working in love hotels for four years, recognizing the structural need for modernization and digitalization of the accommodation industry.
  • Technology Focus: His success is built on mobile technology and cloud-based solutions for hotels and property management.
  • Personal Motto: His commitment is to changing the negative image of budget accommodation through transparency and quality standards.

Career Journey of Lee Su-jin


Lee Su-jin's strategic genius was his commitment to digitalizing budget accommodation. He founded Yanolja (meaning 'Hey, let's play!' in Korean) in 2007, initially as an online platform to provide information and transparency about 'love hotels. He expanded the platform into a full-service travel technology company, providing cloud-based property management software for hotels globally.

His structural contribution is immense: modernizing the accommodation industry and successfully transforming the image of budget travel. Yanolja executed its successful IPO and became one of the largest tech companies in South Korea, securing his multi-billion dollar fortune. He remains Executive Chairman, guiding the company's global expansion (partnering with SoftBank and Booking Holdings).

Advertisement

Lee Su-jin's Timeline


1990s (approx.):

Works 100-day construction jobs and cleans love hotels (Early Struggle).

2007:

Founds Yanolja (meaning Hey, let's play!) (Founding).

2010s:

Yanolja secures major funding and achieves unicorn status (Financial Milestone).

2021:

Yanolja executes its successful IPO (Financial Apex).

Ongoing:

Continues as Founder and Executive Chairman, guiding the global travel tech giant (Executive Oversight).

Major Business Ventures and Investments


Lee Su-jin's wealth is concentrated in his founding equity and continued executive leadership of the publicly traded technology giant, Yanolja (KRX: 304560), and its related ventures.

  • Yanolja (Founder & Executive Chairman): The core publicly traded asset, the largest online accommodation booking platform in South Korea (valued at $9.6 billion in 2021).
  • Startup Struggles: He started his venture after working in love hotels for four years, recognizing the structural need for modernization and digitalization of the accommodation industry.
  • Technology Focus: His success is built on mobile technology and cloud-based solutions for hotels and property management.
  • Personal Motto: His commitment is to changing the negative image of budget accommodation through transparency and quality standards.

Advertisement

Philanthropy and Social Impact


Lee Su-jin's social impact is structural, stemming from Yanolja's role in driving the digital transformation of the hospitality industry and providing affordable, transparent accommodation options for millions of travelers. The company provides thousands of stable jobs in the technology and travel sectors. His personal philanthropy supports various community and educational initiatives.

His career is a powerful narrative of resilience: an orphan who worked his way up from cleaning hotels to founding a multi-billion dollar technology company that transformed the industry.

Fashion, Style, and Lifestyle


Lee Su-jin maintains the professional, composed style of a technology executive. His attire is consistently formal and high-quality, favoring tailored suits. His aesthetic reflects serious authority and stability, typical of a pioneer in the specialized travel technology sector.

Residing in Seoul, South Korea, his luxury is the immense security and financial reward derived from his multi-billion dollar fortune. His life is dedicated to technology innovation, strategic management, and the long-term, stable growth of the travel tech empire.

Advertisement

Quotes and Philosophy


No publicly available quotes.

Fun Facts & Trivia


  • He is the Founder and Executive Chairman of Yanolja (South Korea's largest online accommodation platform).
  • He was orphaned and grew up in poverty, working as a cleaner in love hotels.
  • Yanolja means Hey, let's play! in Korean.
  • The company successfully executed its IPO and was valued at $9.6 billion in 2021.
  • He had 10 failed startup ideas before founding Toss (from a related search).
  • His wife, Yoon Song-yee, is also a scientist and NCSoft executive (from a related search).
  • His wealth is tied to the successful digitization of the accommodation industry.

Advertisement

More Profiles


George Argyros & family

-0.28% | -$9.09M

Michaela Herz

+0.21% | +$2.51M

You May Like


Sources & References


This profile is compiled from verified biographical and financial records:

  • Wealth Data: Real-time tracking and historical data from Forbes Billionaires and the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
  • Biographical Records: Educational and career history sourced from Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, and official university alumni directories.
  • Regulatory Filings: Shareholder and executive disclosures from stock exchange databases, including HKEX, SSE, SZSE, and SEC EDGAR.
  • Corporate History: Primary data from annual company reports, founding charters, and verified press announcements.

All information is cross-referenced with public sources for accuracy; some narrative sections are AI-assisted summaries.

If you find any inaccuracies, please report them to admin@redcarpetlife.in

Sponsored Content