Global Economic Slowdown Wipes Out 13 Trillion Won in Chaebol Leaders' Stocks... Which Had the Highest Decline Rate?

Netmarble Chairman Bang Jun-hyuk Leads with 46% Drop
Daou Kiwoom's Kim Ik-rae Down 40%
Samsung's Lee Jae-yong Remains Only '10 Trillion Club' Head Despite 2 Trillion Decline

OCI's Lee Woo-hyun Nearly Up 40%
SeAH's Lee Soon-hyung Rises Over 20%

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Even the heads of conglomerates could not escape the impact of the stock market downturn caused by the global economic slowdown. In the first half of this year alone, the stock wealth of the heads of 33 major domestic groups evaporated by more than 13 trillion won, with Kim Beom-su, the founder of Kakao, experiencing the largest decrease in stock wealth. On the other hand, OCI Vice Chairman Lee Woo-hyun saw his stock wealth increase by nearly 40% in the first half of the year, and Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, despite losing more than 2 trillion won in stock wealth during the same period, was the only domestic conglomerate head with stock wealth exceeding 10 trillion won.

According to the Korea CXO Research Institute, a corporate analysis specialist, on the 5th, an analysis of the stock valuation changes of major group heads in the first half of 2022 (January to June) revealed these findings. The survey targeted 33 group heads from large business groups managed by the Fair Trade Commission, each with stock valuations exceeding 100 billion won as of the end of June this year.

The total stock wealth of the 33 heads was 64.6325 trillion won at the beginning of January this year, but it decreased to 59.7626 trillion won at the end of March and further to 51.4463 trillion won by the end of June. In six months, the stock wealth of these 33 group heads evaporated by 13.1862 trillion won (20.4%). Among the 33 group heads, 29 (87.9%) saw their stock wealth shrink in the first half of the year.

On the other hand, OCI Vice Chairman Lee Woo-hyun ranked first in stock valuation growth in the first half of the year. OCI’s stock price increased by more than 50% since the beginning of the year, boosting Lee’s stock valuation from 124.4 billion won at the start of the year to 172.5 billion won by the end of June, a jump of over 48 billion won in stock value. Following him were Lee Soon-hyung, Chairman of SeAH, and Shin Dong-bin, Chairman of Lotte, whose stock wealth also rose by more than 20% in the first half.

Four group heads experienced a decrease in stock wealth exceeding one trillion won. The dubious honor of the largest decline in stock wealth went to Bang Jun-hyuk, Chairman of Netmarble’s Board. Netmarble’s stock price was 127,500 won at the beginning of the year but plunged 46% to 68,900 won as of June 30. Consequently, Chairman Bang’s stock value dropped from 2.643 trillion won to 1.4283 trillion won. Kim Ik-rae, Chairman of Daou Kiwoom Group, also saw his stock wealth fall from 211.6 billion won at the start of the year to 126.2 billion won by the end of June, a decrease of over 8.5 billion won, or 40.3%, in the first half alone.

Four group heads saw their stock valuations fall by more than one trillion won in the first half based on stock valuation. Kim Beom-su, founder of Kakao, lost 4.769 trillion won in stock valuation over the past six months, largely due to the decline in the stock prices of Kakao and Kakao Games. Compared to early January, Kakao’s stock fell by 39%, and Kakao Games dropped by 47.2% by the end of June, delivering a decisive blow.

Additionally, Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong (down 2.153 trillion won), Netmarble Chairman Bang Jun-hyuk (down 1.2147 trillion won), and Celltrion Honorary Chairman Seo Jung-jin (down 1.1069 trillion won) also saw their stock wealth decrease by more than one trillion won compared to early January.

As of the end of June this year, 11 of the 33 group heads surveyed were members of the '1 trillion won club' for stock wealth. Among them, Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong was the only one included in the '10 trillion won club,' with stock wealth valued at 12.0335 trillion won. Following him were Celltrion Honorary Chairman Seo Jung-jin (9.0795 trillion won) and Kakao founder Kim Beom-su (7.4578 trillion won), ranking second and third respectively.

The 4th to 6th places were held by ▲ Hyundai Motor Chairman Chung Eui-sun (3.2207 trillion won) ▲ SK Chairman Chey Tae-won (2.7918 trillion won) ▲ Amorepacific Chairman Suh Kyung-bae (2.5164 trillion won), respectively. The 7th to 10th places, all with stock wealth in the 1 trillion won range, were LG Chairman Koo Kwang-mo (1.955 trillion won) in 7th, Naver GIO Lee Hae-jin (1.4711 trillion won) in 8th, Netmarble Chairman Bang Jun-hyuk (1.4283 trillion won) in 9th, and Asan Foundation Chairman Chung Mong-joon (1.2481 trillion won) in 10th. Also included in the 1 trillion won club was CJ Chairman Lee Jae-hyun (1.0209 trillion won). Hyosung Chairman Cho Hyun-joon, who had stock wealth of 1.1521 trillion won at the beginning of the year, dropped out of the 1 trillion won club by the end of June, with 821.5 billion won.

Oh Il-seon, Director of Korea CXO Research Institute, said, "The stock holdings of group heads affect the stock value of individual investors as well," adding, "Since there has been no momentum for a stock price rebound after the end of June, foreigners are continuously leaving the domestic stock market, and the losses of ordinary domestic retail investors are snowballing, creating a serious situation."