A Two-Year-Old Worth 2 Billion Won... Who Is the Top Minor Stockholder in Korea?

90 Minors Holding Over 1 Billion KRW in Domestic Stocks
Top Value: 17-Year-Old Son of Hanmi Semiconductor Vice Chairman

It has been revealed that there are 90 minor shareholders under the age of 19 who own more than 1 billion KRW worth of shares in domestic listed companies. There is even a case of a 2-year-old child holding shares worth as much as 2 billion KRW.

According to FnGuide, a financial information analysis firm, as of the 12th, the number of minor shareholders holding more than 1 billion KRW worth of domestic stocks based on stock valuation was counted at 90.

Among them, 19 minor shareholders held more than 5 billion KRW, and 11 of those held more than 10 billion KRW.

The minor shareholder with the highest value of shares was Kwak Dong-shin, the 17-year-old son of Hanmi Semiconductor's vice chairman. He currently holds stocks worth 20.06 billion KRW, an increase of 13.84 billion KRW from 6.22 billion KRW at the end of last year.

This is due to the number of shares held doubling from 1,007,984 shares at the beginning of the year to 1,977,921 shares in July, and the surge in demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM), essential for artificial intelligence (AI), which caused Hanmi Semiconductor's stock price to skyrocket since the beginning of the year. Hanmi Semiconductor's stock price rose about 66%, from a closing price of 61,500 KRW at the end of last year to 101,400 KRW on the 12th.

Jiwon Jeong, the 11-year-old granddaughter of Solbrain Chairman Jeong Ji-wan, holds stocks worth 32.1 billion KRW across three listed companies including Solbrain. She held about 48.7 billion KRW worth of stocks until the end of last year, but after some disposals, the holding value decreased by approximately 34%.

Kim Jung-gyu's 18-year-old child, the chairman of Tire Bank, participated in Pamphsin's paid-in capital increase and holds stocks worth 19.1 billion KRW in the company.

Three grandchildren (aged 16 to 18) of the late Im Seong-gi, founder of Hanmi Group, hold between 14 billion and 16.8 billion KRW worth of Hanmi Science shares. It is known that Im gifted shares to his grandchildren from when they were young.

Children estimated to be between 13 and 18 years old, presumed to be offspring of Jeon Jong-su, the largest shareholder of EcoEye, a KOSDAQ-listed carbon emission rights business company, each hold stocks worth 13.7 billion KRW.

Jung Ji-sun, chairman of Hyundai Department Store Group, has a 17-year-old daughter who holds Hyundai Green Food stocks worth 11.6 billion KRW. Chairman Jung gifted all Hyundai Green Food shares to his family in July.

The youngest minor shareholder holding more than 1 billion KRW is the child born in 2022 of the CEO of Deoksan Tecopia, currently holding stocks worth about 2.2 billion KRW.

Grandchildren of Eom Jeong-heon, chairman of Hanil Steel, estimated to be aged 4, 6, 7, and 9, are also known to hold stocks worth between 1.6 billion and 1.7 billion KRW.