The 4th Richest Stockholder Kim Beom-su, Chairman of Kakao... Approaching the 4 Trillion Won Club This Month

Up 5 Steps This Year Alone
Kakao Stock Soars on Rising Momentum
Q2 Revenue Expected at 913.9 Billion KRW, Operating Profit 95.2 Billion KRW
Benefiting Significantly from COVID-19 Non-Face-to-Face Demand

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Park Jihwan and Geum Boryeong] As Kakao's stock price, considered a representative non-face-to-face (untact) sector, continues to surge in the stock market, the domestic stock wealth ranking of Kim Beom-su, chairman of Kakao (pictured), who is the major shareholder, has jumped five places just this year. He ranks 4th following Lee Kun-hee, chairman of Samsung Electronics (KRW 15.8265 trillion), Lee Jae-yong, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics (KRW 7.1649 trillion), and Seo Jung-jin, chairman of Celltrion (KRW 5.7002 trillion).

According to financial information provider FnGuide on the 8th, the value of Kim's shares as of the previous day was KRW 3.8823 trillion, an increase of 102% (KRW 1.9612 trillion) compared to KRW 1.9211 trillion at the end of last year.

Kim's rise in the stock wealth ranking has been accelerating over time. At the end of January this year, Kim's share value was KRW 1.9898 trillion, ranking 9th among stock-rich individuals. Afterwards, he maintained a similar ranking at the end of February (KRW 2.1525 trillion, 8th), March (KRW 1.9443 trillion, 8th), and April (KRW 2.3006 trillion, 8th), before surging at the end of May (KRW 3.2947 trillion, 5th) and June (KRW 3.3447 trillion, 5th). On the 3rd of this month, he surpassed Choi Tae-won, chairman of SK (KRW 3.3874 trillion), to rise to 4th place. This is the highest rank increase within the top 10 stock-rich individuals this year. If the current trend continues, it is expected that the share value will reach KRW 4 trillion within this month.

Kim's rise in ranking is due to Kakao's stock price recording continuous upward momentum. Kakao is a beneficiary of the non-face-to-face trend caused by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and its profitability is expected to improve significantly in the second quarter. On the 6th, the stock price surpassed KRW 300,000 for the first time in history.

According to FnGuide, Kakao's estimated performance for the second quarter of this year is KRW 913.9 billion in sales and KRW 95.2 billion in operating profit. These figures represent increases of 24% and 135%, respectively, compared to the same period last year. Regarding the main growth driver, TalkBoard's daily sales declined in January and February compared to December last year but recovered from March and increased monthly from April through last month.

The COVID-19 non-face-to-face beneficiary effect is also being strongly felt. Until last year, most transactions on KakaoTalk Gift were generated from exchange products, but after the spread of COVID-19, the scope expanded to delivery products. The group purchase service 'TalkDeal' and the shopping platform 'TalkStore' are also maintaining high growth rates. TalkDeal's transaction volume has increased more than 28 times within a year since its launch in June last year.

Researcher Joo Young-hoon of Eugene Investment & Securities explained, "Kakao's mobile services, covering the entire ecosystem including advertising, commerce, techfin, and mobility, are becoming even more robust," adding, "The expectation for the future is greater than concerns about valuation burdens due to the recent stock price rise."

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