Kakao's Kim Beom-su Loses Top Richest Spot to Lee Jae-yong Again

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Kim Beom-su, chairman of Kakao's board of directors who had risen to the position of the richest Korean, has relinquished the top spot to Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong after three months.

On the 21st, Bloomberg released a ranking of the world's 500 richest people. In South Korea, Vice Chairman Lee (ranked 212th), Chairman Kim (225th), Seo Jung-jin, honorary chairman of Celltrion Group (238th), Hong Ra-hee, former director of the Leeum Museum of Art (434th), and Kim Jung-ju, founder of Nexon (476th), were listed.

In particular, Chairman Kim's wealth was estimated at approximately $10.6 billion (about 12.5 trillion KRW), about $500 million less than Vice Chairman Lee's approximately $11.1 billion (about 13.1 trillion KRW). After reaching first place on June 29 with a net worth of $13.5 billion (about 15.5 trillion KRW), he gave up the top spot to Vice Chairman Lee again after three months.

The decline in Chairman Kim's net worth was caused by recent stringent regulations from financial authorities and the ruling party targeting Kakao. On the 7th, financial authorities expressed concerns regarding the sale of financial products such as KakaoPay. The Democratic Party also criticized Kakao's "octopus-like business expansion" and announced plans for large-scale regulation. Subsequently, Kakao's stock price plummeted 22.40% by the 17th, and its market capitalization decreased by 15.3522 trillion KRW. Naturally, Chairman Kim's net worth also declined.

Going forward, Chairman Kim plans to convert his personally owned investment company, K Cube Holdings, into a social enterprise. Depending on the outcome of this conversion, his wealth could decrease by more than 40%, potentially dropping him below the top 5 in the rich rankings. If the restructuring results in the ownership of the company moving out of Chairman Kim's personal hands, the 10.59% stake in Kakao held by K Cube Holdings (valued at 5.623 trillion KRW) will be excluded from his net worth.