Broadcaster Song Eun-i got honest about the “10 billion won CEO” title and what led her to start her own company.
On May 25, a video titled “God gave me everything… why can’t I do this one thing? The reason Song Eun-i quit drinking” was uploaded to the YouTube channel ‘Lee Sung-mi’s Mot-ganda’. In the video, Song Eun-i spoke candidly about everything from the days when her broadcasting work dried up to the process of running Media Lab Siso and Content Lab VIVO.
Recalling her time out of work, she said, “Looking back, I was unemployed for over a year.” She calmly shared, “In our line of work, things come and go. Sometimes there are no bookings for six months, then they suddenly appear, so I just thought that was normal. I didn’t view it as pain or hardship. I just wondered, ‘Why don’t I have any work?'”
She explained, “Since I was 30, I prayed that I would have something I could do for the rest of my life even after my 40s.” She added that the podcast she started to keep her instincts sharp while unemployed gradually grew.
However, she had an unexpected reaction to her current role as a CEO. Song Eun-i caught everyone’s attention by firmly stating, “If I could really turn back time, I wouldn’t do it. Absolutely not.”
She revealed, “I started a small broadcast to escape unemployment, and as people began to gather, I felt a company structure was necessary.” She explained, “Eventually, people start arguing over ‘this is mine’ or ‘that is yours,’ and in reality, the company isn’t just mine. That’s why I decided I had to handle the company side of things.”
She also drew a line regarding the “10 billion won CEO” label. “People call me a ’10 billion won CEO,’ but that’s not all mine. Since it’s a company, the owner could change, and it’s not an achievement I made alone,” she said. “I believe a company is a structure where all members work together to create results.”
She added, “No matter how much the name Song Eun-i is known, I couldn’t have come this far on my own. My belief that this is only possible because the employees are working hard in their respective positions has never changed.”
