The Samsung family has occupied the top 1–4 spots among domestic stock billionaires, fueled by substantial year-to-date increases in major subsidiaries such as Samsung Electronics. The net worth of the top 10 individuals, including members of the Samsung family, increased by more than 25% in three months, surpassing the KOSPI’s 19.9% growth over the same time frame.
During the first quarter of this year, when the KOSPI crossed the 6,000 threshold, a significant change took place in the composition of South Korea’s top 100 stock billionaires. The wealth of leading billionaires with investments in semiconductor industries increased dramatically, causing changes in their positions, whereas those in non-semiconductor fields like KOSDAQ-based entertainment and biotechnology saw weaker performance.
◇Top 10 shares go beyond 50%…intensification of stock billionaires’ wealth concentration
As per an analysis conducted by this newspaper using data from financial information provider FnGuide, the equity value of South Korea’s top 100 stock billionaires in the first quarter of this year amounted to 215.8269 trillion Korean won, representing an increase of more than 30 trillion won compared to the previous quarter (180.08 trillion won). Although the overall asset size expanded due to a surge in the stock market, a large part of the growth was concentrated among the highest echelons. The equity value of the top 10 stock billionaires increased from 89.8425 trillion won in the fourth quarter of last year to 112.4143 trillion won in the first quarter of this year, making up most of the total rise. Their share of the total equity value of the top 100 also rose from 49.9% to 52.1% during the same period. This highlights a structure where gains in large-cap stocks fuel index growth, favoring those who hold such stocks disproportionately.
◇The Samsung family holds the top positions… semiconductor trends influence the rankings
The rally is attributed to consistent growth in large-cap semiconductor stocks, which has mainly benefited top asset holders with substantial stakes. Indeed, the top 1–4 positions in equity valuation were all occupied by members of the Samsung family during the first quarter of this year. Lee Jae-yong, Chairman of Samsung Electronics, was ranked first with an equity valuation of 30.9258 trillion won. Hong Ra-hee, honorary director of the Leeum Museum of Art; Lee Boo-jin, president of Hotel Shilla; and Lee Seo-hyun, president of Samsung C&T, came in second to fourth place. The total equity valuation of the stock holdings of Samsung family members this year amounted to 68.7545 trillion won, more than 2.5 times the amount recorded during the same period last year (27.4207 trillion won).
On the other hand, Cho Jung-ho, the Chairman of Meritz Financial Group, who was ranked 2nd in the fourth quarter of last year, dropped to 5th position as the value of his stake slightly decreased from 11.0552 trillion won to 10.8890 trillion won. Previously, Chairman Cho had reached the top position in March of last year, but worries regarding Meritz Financial Group, the biggest creditor involved in the Homeplus crisis, caused poor stock performance. At that time, Meritz Financial Group’s involvement with Homeplus—making up about 82% (1.2 trillion won) of the financial sector’s overall exposure (1.4461 trillion won)—had a negative impact on investor confidence. While Meritz Financial Group’s stock increased by just 8.8% last year, Samsung Electronics saw a significant rise of 125.4%, increasing the difference between the two.
Hanmi Semiconductor also demonstrated significant growth. Kwak Dong-shin, the Chairman of Hanmi Semiconductor, moved up from 10th to 7th position with an equity value of 8.0284 trillion won. The overall ranking of the owner family improved, as members of the Hanmi Semiconductor family were included in the top 100 billionaires—namely Kwak Young-mi, Kwak Young-ah, Kwak Myung-shin, and Kwak Hye-shin—all rising about 30 positions compared to the fourth quarter of the previous year.
Lee Chae-yoon, CEO of Leeno Industrial, a firm specializing in semiconductor materials, components, and equipment, moved up from 26th to 18th position. His net worth grew from 1.5930 trillion won in the fourth quarter of last year to 2.4939 trillion won in the first quarter of this year. Chey Tae-won, Chairman of SK, climbed from 13th to 11th place as a result of increases in SK Inc.’s stock price, even though he does not directly own SK Hynix.
◇Entertainment and biotechnology industries perform poorly… increasing disparity among sectors
The number of people holding top positions among KOSDAQ shareholders significantly reduced this quarter. Park Soon-jae, CEO of Alteogen, moved down from 8th to 15th place. Lee Sang-hoon, CEO of ABL Bio, dropped from 16th to 22nd, and Jeong Sang-soo, Chairman of PharmaResearch, fell from 29th to 37th. Bang Si-hyuk, Chairman of HYBE, the leading local entertainment company, also slipped from 9th to 12th place. Kim Beom-su, founder of Kakao, moved down from 12th to 17th, highlighting the poor performance of non-semiconductor sector representatives.
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