Supermodel Kim Ja-yeon Marries Ex-Samsung President Young Sohn, 25 Years Her Senior

Supermodel-turned-trend analyst Kim Ja-yeon announced on the 31st that she had married Young Sohn, former Samsung Electronics president and chief strategy officer, in a small family ceremony in Switzerland. Kim is 45 and Sohn is 70, a 25-year age gap that has driven much of the reaction online.

Kim broke the news herself on social media with a post that began "JUST MARRIED," followed by a message to her followers. "I never thought I would marry and thought I would live alone my whole life," she wrote, "but well past forty, after many detours, I met my one person." She shared several wedding photos showing her in a range of dresses, holding hands with Sohn. Congratulatory comments poured in.

How they met

The two met about two years ago as MIT alumni, she said, Kim as a graduate of the school's MBA program and Sohn as a senior figure from the same community. They got to know each other first as acquaintances, grew closer as time passed, and confirmed their feelings for each other early this year. After that they moved between the United States, Korea and Europe, learning, in her words, to understand and respect each other's worlds.

Because they had spent two years building trust as friends, she wrote, deciding to commit to a shared future once they became a couple did not take long.

Kim also introduced her husband's résumé herself. Sohn is a former Samsung Electronics president and CSO, and is currently chairman of Samsung's semiconductor advisory board, chairman of the board at Harman International, and founder of a Silicon Valley venture capital firm. Yet she said it was his character that won her over: he cherishes her, is considerate and respectful, and, she added with some humor, finds her height very endearing.

A quiet ceremony on Lake Lucerne

The wedding took place at the Bürgenstock Hotel on Switzerland's Lake Lucerne, attended only by family. Kim said both she and Sohn love Audrey Hepburn, who also married at the venue. The couple pledged to stay by each other's side and widen their worlds together.

On the 3rd, Kim posted a follow-up thanking people for the blessings. "Everyone seems to have their own time," she wrote. For most people, she said, a match comes sooner; for her it arrived slowly, well after forty, but each person finds the connection that suits their own timing, sometimes unexpectedly.

Kim's background

Born in 1981, Kim first came to public attention in 2003 when she won first place at the SBS Supermodel Contest. She then worked in the fashion industry in Korea and abroad, studied fashion management at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, and earned an MBA at MIT before moving into trend analysis and marketing. Sohn was born in 1956.