Jaehyun Lee and Kyungbae Suh Surpassed... The New Stock King in Distribution Is a '38-Year-Old Founder'

Byunghoon Kim of APR Sees 346% Surge in Assets in One Year
Yookyung Chung of Shinsegae Overtakes Her Brother in Share Value Rankings
Assets of Traditional Food Companies Like Ottogi and Dongseo Remain Stagnant

The landscape of stock-rich individuals in the domestic distribution and consumer goods industry is changing. For the first time, a founder in his 30s has risen to the upper ranks that have traditionally been dominated by the heads of established conglomerates. Byunghoon Kim, the 38-year-old founder and CEO of APR, has surpassed Jaehyun Lee, Chairman of CJ Group (66), and Kyungbae Suh, Chairman of Amorepacific Group (63), to become the top stockholder in the distribution sector.

According to financial data provider FnGuide and the distribution industry on March 9, CEO Kim is the largest shareholder of APR, holding a 31.94% stake. As of the closing price on March 5, the value of his holdings was estimated at about 3.3828 trillion won. This marks an increase of approximately 2.625 trillion won from 757.8 billion won a year ago, reflecting a growth rate of 346%. In the overall ranking of the country's stock-rich individuals, CEO Kim climbed 19 places from the previous year to rank 16th. He now holds the highest position among the owners in the distribution and consumer goods sector.

Byunghoon Kim, CEO of APR (from the left), Jaehyun Lee, Chairman of CJ Group, Kyungbae Suh, Chairman of Amorepacific Group.

CEO Kim is a business leader in his 30s who founded APR, a beauty brand company. By leveraging digital marketing and a direct-to-consumer (D2C) online strategy, APR has rapidly expanded in the global market. In particular, beauty brands such as "Medicube" have gained popularity overseas, resulting in simultaneous increases in both business performance and corporate value. The surge in APR's stock price has directly translated into a sharp rise in CEO Kim's personal assets.

Until recently, the upper ranks of stock asset holders in the distribution and consumer goods sector were occupied by the heads of traditional large corporations. Chairman Lee holds stakes in CJ (42.07%), CJ CheilJedang (0.43%), CJ Freshway (0.59%), and CJ ENM (1.82%). The total value of these holdings amounts to about 2.3072 trillion won, ranking him second in the industry. Thanks to the rise in CJ's stock price, his assets grew by about 1 trillion won over the past year, with a growth rate of 77%.

Kyungbae Suh, who had long maintained the top position among stock-rich individuals in the distribution industry, dropped to third place this year. Chairman Suh holds a 54.97% stake in Amorepacific Holdings and a 10.65% stake in Amorepacific. The value of these holdings was calculated at about 1.9901 trillion won. Despite a stock price increase amid expectations of a recovery in the cosmetics sector, the growth rate was limited to around 20%. Overall, Chairman Suh dropped nine places in the ranking of the country's wealthiest stockholders compared to the previous year.

Changsoo Kim (65), founder of fashion company F&F, ranked fourth with stakes in F&F Holdings (62.84%) and F&F (23%) valued at approximately 1.0231 trillion won. Next was Yookyung Chung (54), Chairman of Shinsegae, who holds stakes in Shinsegae (29.16%) and Shinsegae International (15.29%) worth about 1.0163 trillion won, placing her fifth. The value of Chairman Chung’s holdings increased by around 677.3 billion won over the past year, a growth rate of 210%, as Shinsegae’s stock price soared 249%. In terms of stake value, she surpassed her brother, Yongjin Chung (58), Chairman of Shinsegae Group, reversing the siblings' asset rankings. Chairman Yongjin Chung climbed to ninth place with E-Mart shares valued at 727.5 billion won after a 13.8% increase in the stock price, but in the overall wealth ranking, he dropped 30 places from the previous year.

Jiseon Chung (54), Chairman of Hyundai Department Store Group, came in sixth with approximately 943.2 billion won. Due to the rise in Hyundai GF Holdings’ stock price, his assets increased by 155% from a year ago. Namjung Kim (53), Chairman of Dongwon Group, ranked seventh with about 925.3 billion won. Dongbin Shin (71), Chairman of Lotte Group, secured eighth place with around 733.9 billion won. Hwakyoung Lee (70), Vice Chairman of Orion Group, placed tenth with approximately 669.3 billion won.

The most significant change in the asset rankings for the distribution sector is the shift in generation and business models. In the past, the top ranks were dominated by owners of traditional distribution companies focused on food and department stores. Recently, founders of beauty brands, fashion, and platform-based consumer goods companies have been rapidly emerging. CEO Kim, who founded APR, is 38 years old this year—at least 20 to 30 years younger than the heads of major distribution conglomerates. This is seen as an example of a digital-based company overtaking traditional distribution firms.

The growth rate of stock assets makes this transformation even more apparent. Dongseon Kim (37), Executive Vice President of Hanwha Group, saw his assets increase by 442% in a year, thanks to the rising value of his stakes in Hanwha and Hanwha Galleria. Chairman Yookyung Chung also posted a 210% increase, the highest among the top-tier individuals.

On the other hand, the assets of some traditional food company heads have remained relatively stagnant. Youngjoon Ham (67), Chairman of Ottogi, saw the value of his holdings decrease by 5% to about 380.8 billion won compared to a year ago. Despite strong export performance of Buldak Bokkeum Myeon boosting results at Samyang Foods, Vice Chairman Jeongsu Kim (62) saw his stake value grow by only 3% year-on-year to about 300.5 billion won. Seoksu Kim (72), former Chairman of Dongseo Food, saw little change, with his stakes valued at approximately 433.6 billion won.

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