A Crash Even Chaebols Couldn't Avoid... Kakao's Kim Beom-su Sees His Stock Wealth Halved

Korea CXO Institute Investigates Changes in Stock Valuation of 33 Group Heads
33 Group Heads' Stock Wealth Drops 19 Trillion Won in Q3, Down 30%
Lee Jae-yong, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman, Sole Member of 10 Trillion Club Maintained

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jaehee] Corporate heads were no exception in the market crash. In the third quarter of this year, the stock wealth of the heads of 33 domestic groups decreased by nearly 19 trillion won. In particular, six heads, including Kim Beom-su, the founder of Kakao, whose stock wealth plummeted by more than 6 trillion won over the past nine months, suffered losses in the trillion-won range during the same period. Lee Jae-yong, Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics, was the only group head to remain in the 10 trillion won club for stock wealth, while Lee Jae-hyun, Chairman of CJ, dropped out of the 1 trillion won club in the third quarter.

According to the "2022 Q3 Major Group Heads' Stock Valuation Changes Survey" released on the 4th by Korea CXO Research Institute, a corporate analysis specialist, the stock wealth of the heads of 33 groups as of the end of September compared to January this year was reduced by one-third. The total amount was 18.9291 trillion won (29.3%). Approximately 30% of the stock wealth of the heads of the 33 groups evaporated in the third quarter alone.

In particular, six group heads, including Kim Beom-su, founder of Kakao, saw their stock valuations drop by trillions of won in the third quarter. Founder Kim's stock wealth evaporated by 6.1335 trillion won (50.2%) over the past nine months. Lee Jae-yong, Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics, also saw his stock valuation plunge from 14.1866 trillion won at the beginning of the year to 10.8841 trillion won at the end of September. In addition, Bang Jun-hyuk, Chairman of Netmarble's Board, and Lee Hae-jin, Global Investment Officer (GIO) of Naver, also saw their stock wealth decrease by more than 1 trillion won during the same period. The stock wealth of Seo Kyung-bae, Chairman of Amorepacific, and Seo Jung-jin, Honorary Chairman of Celltrion, also dropped by more than 1 trillion won in the third quarter alone. Chairman Seo Kyung-bae's stock valuation fell by 1.2451 trillion won (from 3.1125 trillion won at the beginning of the year to 1.8674 trillion won at the end of September), and Honorary Chairman Seo Jung-jin's stock valuation dropped by 1.1791 trillion won (from 10.1864 trillion won to 9.0073 trillion won).

Who Smiled Even in the Market Crash?

On the other hand, some group heads saw their stock wealth increase in the third quarter. The group head whose stock wealth increased the most over the past nine months was Shin Dong-bin, Chairman of Lotte Group. Chairman Shin's stock wealth was 694.3 billion won at the beginning of this year but rose to 805.9 billion won by the end of September. This represents an increase of 111.5 billion won (16.1%) over nine months. The significant rise in the price per common share of Lotte Holdings, which Chairman Shin holds, from 29,850 won on January 3 to 38,300 won on September 30, a rise of over 28%, was a major factor.

Chairman Jang Hyung-jin of Youngpoong also saw his stock valuation increase by more than 61.8 billion won (15.3%) in the third quarter alone, from 404.9 billion won at the beginning of the year to 466.7 billion won at the end of September. The decisive factor for the increase in Chairman Jang's stock wealth was the rise in the per-share value of Korea Zinc stock from 510,000 won to 595,000 won, a 16.7% increase.

Additionally, Lee Soon-hyung, Chairman of SeAH, saw his stock wealth increase by 33.6 billion won (from 111.6 billion won at the beginning of the year to 144.9 billion won at the end of September), and Chung Mong-joon, Chairman of Hyundai Heavy Industries Asan Foundation, saw an increase of 10.5 billion won (from 1.1262 trillion won to 1.1367 trillion won) in the third quarter. Notably, the upward trend in the stock values of SeAH Steel Holdings for Chairman Lee Soon-hyung and HD Hyundai for Chairman Chung Mong-joon compared to the beginning of the year was a key factor.

10 Group Heads Enter the 1 Trillion Won Stock Wealth Club... 1st Place is Lee Jae-yong, Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics

As of the end of September this year, 10 out of the 33 group heads surveyed were in the 1 trillion won stock wealth club. This is two fewer than at the beginning of January. The top spot was taken by Lee Jae-yong, Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics, with 10.8842 trillion won. Following him were Seo Jung-jin, Honorary Chairman of Celltrion, with 9.0073 trillion won, and Kim Beom-su, founder of Kakao, with 6.0933 trillion won, ranking second and third respectively.

Oh Il-seon, Director of Korea CXO Research Institute, said, "The stock wealth of group heads has been continuously declining in the first quarter (end of March), second quarter (end of June), and third quarter (end of September) compared to the beginning of this year," adding, "Next year, the business environment will be even more unstable, making it difficult to find opportunities for a rebound in the fourth quarter."

He continued, "Especially if the stocks held by IT company heads fall further by the end of this year compared to the third quarter, distrust in the domestic stock market will spread, inevitably causing greater damage to individual investors in the future."