MJ Lee
MJ Lee | |
|---|---|
| Born | Lee Min-jung March 5, 1987 Seoul, South Korea |
| Other names | Min Jung Lee |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Alma mater | Georgetown University |
| Occupation(s) | Journalist, political correspondent |
| Years active | 2009 – present |
| Employer(s) | CNN (2014–present) Politico (2009–2014) |
| Known for | CNN White House Correspondent |
| Spouse | Alex Burns |
| Children | 2 |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 이민정 |
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | I Min-jeong |
| McCune–Reischauer | I Minjŏng |
Min Jung "MJ" Lee (born March 5,[1] 1987) is a South Korean-born American political correspondent for CNN and is currently a White House correspondent for the network.
She has previously worked for Politico.
Early life and education
[edit]Lee was born in Seoul, South Korea and raised in Hong Kong, where she and her brother attended Hong Kong International School (an American-system style school). In her junior year of high school, she moved to the United States to attend a boarding school and has never returned to South Korea since.[2] In 2009, she graduated from Georgetown University with a degree in government and Chinese.[3] During college, she interned for The Washington Post and South China Morning Post.[4] Lee was offered an entry-level journalism position, but was then rejected due to being on a visa.[2]
Career
[edit]Months after graduation, Lee began working at Politico as a web producer.[1] By 2012, she was a finance reporter after a year on the breaking news desk. In 2014, she started working at CNN.[5] Since working at CNN, she has covered the 2016 United States presidential election (both Trump and Clinton campaigns);[6] as well as how the Me Too movement has affected Capitol Hill, covering the allegations against ousted U.S. Senator Al Franken (D-MN), former White House aide and Staff Secretary Rob Porter, and former U.S. Representative Blake Farenthold (R-TX) (all of whom resigned from their positions as a result of abuse or sexual misconduct allegations).[7] She has also covered the Republicans' contemporary attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.[8][9] Lee covered the 2020 Democratic presidential primary with a focus on the Elizabeth Warren campaign, and the 2020 United States presidential election with a focus on the Joe Biden campaign.
In January 2021, Lee was promoted to White House correspondent under the Biden administration.[10]
At APEC United States 2023, she asked US president Biden if he considered Chinese president Xi a dictator. Biden replied yes.[11]
Personal life
[edit]Lee became an American citizen on September 17, 2016, on Ellis Island, coinciding with her coverage of the 2016 US presidential election campaign.[2] She is married to fellow journalist Alex Burns.[3] They have two children.[12]
In 2022, Lee was named by Carnegie Corporation of New York as an honoree of the Great Immigrants Awards.[13][14]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Lippman, Daniel (March 5, 2018). "BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: MJ Lee, CNN national political reporter". Politico. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
- ^ a b c Lee, MJ (September 23, 2016). "The day I became an American citizen". CNN. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
- ^ a b Pappu, Sridhar (March 5, 2016). "Millennial Reporters Grab the Campaign-Trail Spotlight". New York Times. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
- ^ "Success Stories: Class of 2009". Georgetown University. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
- ^ Wemple, Erik (December 19, 2014). "Politico editor Susan Glasser: We're in a 'period of growth and rising ambition'". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
- ^ Wemple, Erik (December 8, 2016). "CNN reporter felt like a 'new person' after switch from Trump to Clinton". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
- ^ "MJ Lee - Correspondent". CNN. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
- ^ Lee, MJ (March 9, 2017). "Nobody wants their name on the Republican health care bill". Casper Star-Tribune. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
- ^ Lee, MJ (January 9, 2017). "How the tables are turning on Obamacare". CNN. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
- ^ Brian Stelter (January 11, 2021). "CNN announces promotions for Jake Tapper, Abby Phillip, Dana Bash and others". CNN. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
- ^ Donald Judd (November 16, 2023). "Biden says he still believes Xi Jinping is a dictator". CNN. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
- ^ "MJ Lee - Senior White House Correspondent". CNN. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
- ^ "MJ Lee". Carnegie Corporation of New York. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
- ^ Candid. "Carnegie Corporation names 2022 cohort of distinguished immigrants". Philanthropy News Digest (PND). Retrieved June 18, 2024.
- 1987 births
- Living people
- South Korean journalists
- South Korean women journalists
- South Korean expatriates in Hong Kong
- CNN people
- Georgetown University alumni
- Politico people
- Naturalized citizens of the United States
- Mass media people from Seoul
- 21st-century American women journalists
- 21st-century American journalists
- Journalists from Washington, D.C.
- South Korean emigrants to the United States
- Journalists from New York City