Untact and Bio, New Faces of Stock Millionaires

Seo Jung-jin, Chairman of Celltrion, Ranks 3rd
Kim Taek-jin, CEO of NC, Enters Top 10
Manufacturing Owners Like Chung Mong-koo Show Weak Performance

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Ji-hwan] The rankings of stock tycoons have significantly changed due to the industrial landscape shifts brought about by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The faces of large conglomerate owners centered on traditional manufacturing are gradually disappearing, while owners of contactless (untact) and bio companies are emerging one after another.

According to financial information provider FnGuide on the 15th, the valuation of shares held by Lee Kun-hee, chairman of Samsung Electronics, decreased by 1.0731 trillion KRW (6.45%) from 16.6478 trillion KRW on March 2 to 15.5747 trillion KRW on June 12. However, he maintained an unshakable first place, being the only one with shares valued over 10 trillion KRW.

The second richest stockholder is Lee Jae-yong, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, whose share valuation across six stocks including Samsung C&T, Samsung Life Insurance, Samsung SDS, Samsung Engineering, Samsung Electronics, and Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance increased by 0.33% from 7.0445 trillion KRW to 7.0681 trillion KRW. The gap between him and Chairman Lee Kun-hee stands at 8.5066 trillion KRW.

Following them are Seo Jung-jin, chairman of Celltrion (5.7757 trillion KRW); Choi Tae-won, chairman of SK Group (3.6208 trillion KRW); Seo Kyung-bae, chairman of AmorePacific Group (3.4568 trillion KRW); Kim Beom-su, chairman of Kakao (3.3259 trillion KRW); Chung Mong-koo, chairman of Hyundai Motor Group (3.2115 trillion KRW); Hong Ra-hee, former director of Leeum (2.8322 trillion KRW); Kim Taek-jin, CEO of NCSoft (2.1655 trillion KRW); and Bang Jun-hyuk, chairman of Netmarble (1.9797 trillion KRW), all making the top 10 list.

Notably, Chairman Seo Jung-jin's share value rose by 2.238 trillion KRW (63.26%) compared to March, significantly boosting his ranking. He surged from 7th place at the beginning of the year to 4th in March, and recently climbed to 3rd. Chairman Kim Beom-su also increased his share value by 1.1359 trillion KRW (51.87%), jumping from 8th to 6th place, while CEO Kim Taek-jin rose from 12th to 9th place with a 428.4 billion KRW (24.66%) increase, entering the top 10. These leaders stood out as their companies were highlighted as key players in treatment-related stocks or representative contactless service businesses following the COVID-19 outbreak.

Among the traditional figures, Chairman Choi Tae-won's performance is remarkable. He climbed three ranks in the stock tycoon list over three months. This is due to SK Biopharm, a 100% subsidiary developing new drugs, preparing for a KOSPI listing next month, and SK Innovation, where he is the largest shareholder, seeing a sharp rise in stock value amid expectations of expansion in the secondary battery market.

On the other hand, Chairman Seo Kyung-bae and former director Hong Ra-hee each dropped two ranks to 5th and 8th place, respectively. Chairman Chung Mong-koo and Hyundai Motor Group's executive vice chairman Chung Eui-sun (1.9708 trillion KRW) also fell two ranks to 7th and 11th place. In particular, Chairman Chung Mong-koo's ranking dropped three places from 4th at the beginning of the year. The decline in the Hyundai family’s rankings was largely influenced by the global automobile market's shift toward electric vehicles led by Tesla, which negatively impacted Hyundai Motor Group's stock price, centered on internal combustion engine vehicles.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.