Seung Yong Chung is a marketing executive and co-founder of Cashmere Agency, the Los Angeles advertising firm he started with Ted Chung in 2003. He is also known as the former husband of actress Diane Farr. His career spans finance, business leadership, and the growth of a creative company that has worked with major global brands.
In this article, you’ll learn about his education, his role at Cashmere, the agency’s major achievements, and his family life with Farr. Let’s start with the career that made his name known in the advertising world.
Quick Facts About Seung Yong Chung
- Full name: Seung Yong Chung
- Professional name: Seung Chung
- Known for: Co-founding Cashmere Agency
- Profession: Marketing executive and business leader
- Education: Finance degree from Virginia Tech and master’s degree in information technology from George Washington University
- Previous employers: NextLinx Corporation and Ernst & Young
- Former spouse: Diane Farr
- Children: Three
- Major milestone: Cashmere joined Media.Monks in 2021
Who Is Seung Yong Chung?
Seung Yong Chung helped build a marketing firm that uses music, art, sports, and popular culture to connect brands with people. Rather than work as a public figure in entertainment, he focused on building a business that could serve major clients.
In August 2025, George Washington University identified him as Cashmere’s co-founder and CEO. The university described his work in new business development, operations, and financial planning. These roles helped guide the agency as it grew.
His former marriage to Diane Farr brought his name to a wider audience. Yet his professional career began long before many readers first heard about him through entertainment news.
Education and Early Career
Chung earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from Virginia Tech. He later completed a master’s degree in information technology at George Washington University in 1995.
His studies gave him knowledge of both business and technical systems. Finance taught him about money, budgets, and business decisions. His work in information technology added skills linked to how companies use data and digital tools.
Both fields were relevant to the work he later did at Cashmere. A creative agency needs strong ideas, but it also needs sound budgets, clear plans, and teams that can deliver projects on time.
Before starting Cashmere, Chung worked at NextLinx Corporation and Ernst & Young LLP. These employers are listed in the George Washington University alumni leadership profile, which also confirms his degrees and later business role.
How Cashmere Agency Started
Chung and Ted Chung founded Cashmere in Los Angeles in 2003. Their goal was to help brands connect with people through culture, rather than assume all consumers had the same interests.
The agency built its work around music, fashion, entertainment, sports, and social trends. These interests helped its teams learn how different groups viewed products and brands.
Cashmere went on to offer brand strategy, social media services, creative content, publicity, and live events. Its teams could help clients plan a message and then bring that message to the people they wanted to reach.
This approach gave the firm a clear place in the advertising market. As brands looked for closer ties with different audiences, Cashmere could offer both creative work and cultural insight.
Seung Chung’s Role in the Agency
While creative teams made campaigns, Chung helped run the business behind them. His role included finding new clients, managing operations, and planning the firm’s finances.
Winning a new account is only the first step. An agency must also hire people, set budgets, meet deadlines, and keep clients informed. These tasks help a company grow without losing control of its work.
Chung’s role covered that side of Cashmere. He helped lead the firm as it took on larger projects and served more brands.
The agency’s campaigns were team efforts. Designers, writers, planners, and other staff brought each project to life. Chung’s work was focused on the leadership and business structure that supported those teams.
Major Clients and Industry Awards
By 2021, Cashmere had worked with brands such as Google, BMW, Netflix, Disney, Adidas, and Apple. The list covers technology, cars, sportswear, and entertainment. Each brand had its own audience and goals.
Cashmere also earned praise in the advertising industry. Ad Age named it Multicultural Agency of the Year in 2019. The agency appeared on Ad Age’s Agencies to Watch list in 2020 and received A-List Standout recognition in 2021.
Its work also received honors from Cannes Lions, Clio, and the Webby Awards.
These awards reflect the work of the agency and its staff. They show how a Los Angeles firm founded in 2003 gained a place among well-known names in advertising.
Taco Bell’s Partnership With Cashmere
One of Cashmere’s major business wins came in August 2021. Taco Bell chose the firm as its first culture agency of record.
The role gave Cashmere a part in shaping Taco Bell’s cultural marketing plans. It involved more than making a single advertisement.
Taco Bell already had links to sports, music, fashion, and gaming. Cashmere’s job was to help the brand build stronger ties across those areas and reach people from different backgrounds.
The partnership showed how a focus on culture could lead to long-term work with a major consumer brand. It also came just before another big event in Cashmere’s history.
Cashmere’s 2021 Merger With Media.Monks
In September 2021, S4Capital announced that Cashmere would join Media.Monks, its digital advertising group. Cashmere had more than 150 team members at the time.
The deal gave Cashmere access to a much larger network of creative and digital services. Media.Monks gained a firm with strong skills in cultural strategy and brand work.
For Chung and his colleagues, the merger marked a new stage after 18 years of building Cashmere in Los Angeles.
The wider group later changed its name. In 2024, Media.Monks became Monks as S4Capital made changes to its business structure.
The official S4Capital company timeline records Cashmere’s move into the network in September 2021 and the later name change.
Marriage to Actress Diane Farr
Away from advertising, Chung became known to television viewers through his marriage to Diane Farr. The actress has appeared in shows such as Rescue Me, Numb3rs, and Fire Country.
The couple married in 2006, had three children, and later divorced.
Their relationship also received attention because they came from different cultural backgrounds. Farr spoke about the problems they faced when some family members objected to their marriage.
She shared parts of that experience in her 2011 book, Kissing Outside the Lines: A True Story of Love and Race and Happily Ever After.
The book explores interracial love, family expectations, and the pressure couples can face when relatives do not accept their choices. Farr used her own experiences along with stories from other couples.
Family Life and Personal Interests
Chung and Farr share three children. Although their marriage ended, parenthood remains part of their shared history.
Chung’s interests outside work received a brief mention in George Washington University’s 2025 alumni profile. The university noted that he enjoys Korean barbecue, playing golf, traveling, and snowboarding with his children.
Those details offer a small glimpse of his life beyond advertising.
Much of Chung’s public profile remains focused on his work. His agency career has been covered through business news, while Farr has spoken more openly about their past relationship.
What Is Seung Yong Chung Doing Now?
The August 2025 alumni profile from George Washington University provides a recent account of Chung’s professional work. It identifies him as Cashmere’s co-founder and CEO.
The profile also credits him with guiding the agency through its move into the S4Capital network. His duties include business growth, operations, and financial planning.
His career is tied to a company that changed greatly after its founding in 2003. Cashmere grew into an award-winning firm, won major clients, and became part of an international advertising group.
The company’s sale and growth do not, by themselves, establish Chung’s personal net worth. His professional achievements are better measured through the business he helped build and the work it produced.
Final Thoughts
Seung Yong Chung is known for two different parts of his life. His former marriage to Diane Farr connects him to the entertainment world, while his career at Cashmere belongs to the business of advertising.
He studied finance and technology before helping launch the agency in 2003. Over the next 18 years, Cashmere worked with global brands, earned industry awards, and joined Media.Monks in 2021.
His story reflects the work needed to build a creative business, from finding clients and managing teams to guiding a company through years of growth.
While many readers first come across his name through Diane Farr, his most significant professional achievement is helping establish and grow Cashmere Agency.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Seung Yong Chung and Ted Chung brothers?
The two founded Cashmere Agency in 2003. MediaPost described them as cousins in its reporting on the 2021 merger.
Is Seung Yong Chung an actor?
He is known for business and marketing leadership, not acting. His connection to television comes through his former marriage to actress Diane Farr.
Where did Seung Yong Chung go to college?
He earned a finance degree from Virginia Tech and completed a master’s degree in information technology at George Washington University in 1995.
When did Cashmere join Media.Monks?
Cashmere joined Media.Monks in September 2021 as part of S4Capital. The wider agency group changed its name to Monks in 2024.
How many children does Seung Yong Chung have?
He has three children with his former wife, Diane Farr. His family is also mentioned in his 2025 George Washington University alumni profile.
