MJ Lee | |
|---|---|
| Born | Lee Min-jung (1987-03-05)March 5, 1987 (age 38) Seoul, South Korea |
| Other names | Min Jung Lee |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Alma mater | Georgetown University |
| Occupations | 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 | 李珉廷 |
| RR | I Minjeong |
| MR | I Minjŏng |
Min Jung "MJ" Lee (born March 5,[1] 1987) is a South Korean-born American political correspondent forCNN and is currently a White House correspondent for the network.
She has previously worked forPolitico.
Lee was born inSeoul, South Korea and raised inHong 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 fromGeorgetown University with a degree in government and Chinese.[3] During college, she interned forThe Washington Post andSouth China Morning Post.[4] Lee was offered an entry-level journalism position, but was then rejected due to being on a visa.[2]
Months after graduation, Lee began working atPolitico 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 atCNN.[5] Since working at CNN, she has covered the2016 United States presidential election (bothTrump andClinton campaigns);[6] as well as how theMe Too movement has affected Capitol Hill, covering the allegations against ousted U.S. SenatorAl Franken (D-MN), formerWhite House aide andStaff SecretaryRob Porter, and former U.S. RepresentativeBlake 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 theAffordable Care Act.[8][9] Lee covered the2020 Democratic presidential primary with a focus on theElizabeth Warren campaign, and the2020 United States presidential election with a focus on theJoe Biden campaign.
In January 2021, Lee was promoted to White House correspondent under theBiden administration.[10]
AtAPEC United States 2023, she askedUS presidentJoe Biden if he consideredGeneral Secretary of the Chinese Communist PartyXi Jinping adictator. Biden replied yes.[11]
Lee became an American citizen on September 17, 2016, onEllis Island, coinciding with her coverage of the 2016 US presidential election campaign.[2] She is married to fellow journalistAlex Burns.[3] They have two children.[12]
In 2022, Lee was named byCarnegie Corporation of New York as an honoree of theGreat Immigrants Awards.[13][14]