David Yong

David Yong
Born1987 (age 36–37)
Singapore
Education
Occupations
  • Businessman
  • singer
Years active2014–present
TitleCEO of Evergreen Group Holdings
Musical career
OriginSeoul, South Korea
Genres
InstrumentVocals
Years active2021–present
Labels
Websitedavidyong.asia
David Yong
Simplified Chinese杨孔霖
Traditional Chinese楊孔霖
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinYáng Kǒnglín

Yong Khung Lin[1] (Chinese: 杨孔霖, born 1987), more commonly known as David Yong, is a Singaporean businessman and singer. He is the current chief executive officer (CEO) of Evergreen Group Holdings of Singapore, a company with interests in timber trading, real estate, lifestyle and entertainment.

Early life and education

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Yong was born into a family with a timber trading business. His interest in K-pop was sparked in 2017 when he took his younger brother to a concert by the K-pop girl group Twice in Singapore.[2]

He studied law at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom in 2013.[2][3][4] Initially working as a lawyer, he soon joined his family's timber business, Evergreen Teak Trading, founded by his father Yong Ing Fatt in 1990.[4] In 2014, following Myanmar's ban on raw timber exports, Yong decided to shift his focus to furniture manufacturing, specializing in high-quality Burmese teak.[4] The move into furniture manufacturing helped expand Evergreen Group Holdings (Evergreen GH) beyond timber trading.[4][2]

Career

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Music career

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In May 2021, Yong moved to South Korea to pursue his music ambitions and was signed by Rainbowbridge World (RBW), the agency of popular K-pop girl group Mamamoo.[2] He initially found it difficult to communicate in Korean, having to learn it within a span of months.[5] He first collaborated with 4Men on the track "My Way", which was released in December 2021.[2] Yong made his music career on 5 July 2022, releasing a hip-hop track, "In My Pocket", featuring Kid Milli, and produced by Jeon Ji-yoon.[5][2] "In My Pocket" received more than 10 million views on YouTube.[2]

Business career

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Yong is the chief executive of Evergreen GH and runs more than 15 businesses.[3] Evergreen GH diversified its business portfolio to include real estate, lifestyle and entertainment. The company partnered with RBW to distribute content across Southeast Asia, co-produce artists and establish training schools for K-pop aspirants in the region.[2]

Following his debut in 2022, he invested approximately ₩10 billion ($7.5 million) in the South Korean K-pop entertainment agency Attrakt. At the time of his investment, Attrakt was facing challenges, including a legal dispute with its only artist, the girl group Fifty Fifty.[6] In August 2024, after the news broke of Yong being charged in Singaporean court for falsifying tax invoices for Evergreen GH,[1] Attrakt stated that despite the memorandum of understanding signed between Yong and them, Yong's investment then had been minimal and that his ongoing legal issues would have minimal impact on their operations.[7]

Personal life

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Yong resides in the tallest tower in Seoul, the Lotte World Tower.[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b Lim, Joyce (3 August 2024). "S'porean David Yong, who was in Netflix's Super Rich in Korea, charged with falsification of accounts". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Archived from the original on 24 September 2024. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Lee, Jan (17 September 2022). "Singaporean lawyer-CEO David Yong makes K-pop debut, signs with Mamamoo's agency". www.tnp.sg. Archived from the original on 24 September 2024. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  3. ^ a b "[INTERVIEW] Why Singaporean CEO chose to debut as K-pop star". koreatimes. 8 November 2022. Archived from the original on 12 July 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d Lim, Ariel (16 May 2024). "How timber scion David Yong grew the family business by grafting new ideas". The Peak Magazine. Archived from the original on 10 December 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  5. ^ a b General, Ryan (8 November 2022). "The newest K-pop artist is a 35-year-old Singaporean CEO". NextShark. Archived from the original on 24 September 2024. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  6. ^ Yoo, Hong (3 March 2024). "[Exclusive] Singaporean businessman David Yong to establish K-pop label in S. Korea this year". The Korea Herald. Archived from the original on 12 July 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  7. ^ "데이비드 용, 사기 혐의 기소…어트랙트 "MOU 체결했지만 투자·피해無" : 네이트 연예". 모바일 네이트 뉴스 (in Korean). Archived from the original on 15 August 2024. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  8. ^ Manisha, lakhe (18 May 2024). "'Super Rich in Korea' on Netflix: 3 hidden money lessons to learn from the series". Archived from the original on 12 July 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
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