Samsung Family Three Daughters, Share Valuation Increase... Inheritance Tax Burden Remains (Comprehensive)

Leaders Index, Analysis of Female Shareholding Status in Owner Families of Top 500 Companies
Block Deal for Affiliate Shares Sold Before Market Open on the 11th
Benefited from Samsung Electronics Stock Price Rise but Must Continue Paying Inheritance Tax

Recently, the three Samsung family women, who sold part of their affiliate shares through a block deal (large-scale trading outside regular hours) to prepare for inheritance tax payments, maintained the highest stock valuation among women in South Korea.

Samsung Owner Family. From the left, Lee Seo-hyun, President of Samsung C&T Fashion Division; Hong Ra-hee, Former Director of Samsung Museum of Art Leeum; Lee Boo-jin, President of Hotel Shilla; Lee Jae-yong, Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics. Photo by Asia Economy DB

On the 16th, the corporate analysis research institute 'Leaders Index' investigated the changes in stock value of the top 50 women among 417 women who hold large amounts of shares as owners of the top 500 domestic companies. The total market capitalization of the stocks held by these 50 women was 24.1975 trillion KRW as of the closing price on the 12th, an increase of about 0.3% compared to January 12 last year (24.1275 trillion KRW).

The top three positions were occupied by the Samsung family: Hong Ra-hee, former director of the Samsung Museum of Art Leeum; Lee Boo-jin, president of Hotel Shilla; and Lee Seo-hyun, chairperson of the Samsung Welfare Foundation. The combined valuation of their shares was 18.7967 trillion KRW.

They sold shares worth about 2.7 trillion KRW in affiliates including Samsung Electronics through a block deal before the market opened on the 11th. However, due to the rise in Samsung Electronics' stock price, the valuation increased compared to January 12 last year, and there was no change in their rankings.

Hong, the former director ranked first, sold 0.32% (19,324,106 shares) of Samsung Electronics but still had a combined value of Samsung Electronics, Samsung Life Insurance, and Samsung C&T shares that increased by 1.1% year-on-year to 7.3963 trillion KRW. Lee Boo-jin, ranked second, disposed of 2,401,223 shares (0.04%) of Samsung Electronics and some shares of Samsung C&T, Samsung SDS, and Samsung Life Insurance. However, as of the 12th, the value of her holdings (6.0334 trillion KRW) increased by 2.5% compared to last year. Lee Seo-hyun, who sold 8,103,854 shares (0.14%) of Samsung Electronics, saw the total value of her holdings rise by 4.2% year-on-year to 5.3669 trillion KRW, maintaining her third place.

The sale of shares by these three women was carried out to secure funds for the approximately 12 trillion KRW inheritance tax that the bereaved family must pay following the death of the late Chairman Lee Kun-hee. The family has been paying the inheritance tax in installments over five years since April 2021 using the installment payment system.

In May last year, Hong Ra-hee, Lee Boo-jin, and Lee Seo-hyun also took out stock-backed loans from financial institutions to pay the inheritance tax. With the global trend of rising interest rates, their interest burdens have reportedly increased significantly.

The art collection 'Lee Kun-hee Collection,' which could have been used as funds for inheritance tax through sales, was donated to national institutions and returned to society.

The fourth place was held by the SK family, with Choi Ki-won, chairman of the Happy Sharing Foundation, holding 6.6% of SK Inc. Choi's share valuation decreased by 14.2% year-on-year to 787.6 billion KRW. Kim Young-sik, the late Gu Bon-moo LG Group chairman's wife, ranked fifth, rising one spot from last year with 506 billion KRW, down 4.3% year-on-year. Their eldest daughter, Gu Yeon-kyung, CEO of the LG Welfare Foundation, ranked eighth with 349.8 billion KRW, down 4.4%, and the second daughter, Gu Yeon-su, ranked 19th with 86 billion KRW.

In the Shinsegae Group, Chung Yoo-kyung, general manager of Shinsegae, ranked sixth with 392.9 billion KRW, and her mother, Lee Myung-hee, chairperson, ranked seventh with 354.5 billion KRW. The combined value of their shares decreased by 29.6% compared to last year.

Song Young-sook, chairperson of Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group, which recently announced a merger with OCI Group, ranked ninth with 313.1 billion KRW, and her daughter, Lim Joo-hyun, CEO of Hanmi Science, ranked tenth with 273.8 billion KRW. Their share values increased by 23.7% compared to last year.