Public Officials' Asset Disclosure... Ownership of Samsung Electronics and Kakao
Financial Services Commission: Kim So-Young, Vice Chairman, Holds the Most Samsung Electronics Shares
Recently, as Samsung Electronics' stock price has declined, the returns on Samsung Electronics shares held by Financial Services Commission officials, Financial Supervisory Service executives, and their families have also decreased.
According to the Financial Services Commission public officials' asset disclosure data (as of March 28) published in the Republic of Korea Electronic Gazette on the 7th, Vice Chairman Kim So-young holds 300 shares of Samsung Electronics. Last year, Vice Chairman Kim held 1,700 shares of Samsung Electronics but sold some and retained only 300 shares.
Under the Public Officials Ethics Act, public officials holding stocks worth more than 30 million KRW must sell the stocks or place them in a blind trust within a specified period. Failure to sell or place the stocks in a blind trust without justifiable reasons may result in imprisonment for up to one year or a fine of up to 10 million KRW. If the stocks held are unrelated to official duties, the obligation to sell or place them in a blind trust is exempted.
Vice Chairman Kim held multiple stocks including Samsung Electronics, LG Energy Solution, LG Electronics, and Asiana Airlines but sold most of them entirely. In the case of the family company, the shipping firm Jungang Shipping, 29.26% (210,687 shares) of the stake was placed in a blind trust.
Except for Vice Chairman Kim, most stocks are held by family members. The Financial Services Commission revised regulations in August 2016 to prohibit stock trading by public officials at grade 4 or higher. Public officials at grade 5 or lower must report all trading activities regardless of the amount. Stocks previously held can continue to be held, but sales must be reported. Employees of the Financial Supervisory Service are not public officials, so they can trade stocks. However, they have a reporting obligation when trading stocks.
Generally, there was a noticeable preference for Samsung Electronics in stock investments. It was found that Lee Yoon-soo, a standing commissioner’s spouse holds 63 shares, Lee Se-hoon, the Financial Supervisory Service’s senior deputy governor’s spouse holds 16 shares, and Kim Byung-chil, the Financial Supervisory Service’s head of banking and small and microfinance division’s spouse holds 10 shares.
According to the public officials' asset disclosure data, Samsung Electronics shares have been held for at least two years. Although not in a loss zone, it is estimated that the returns have significantly decreased this year.
On the 4th, Samsung Electronics closed at 60,600 KRW, down 1.14% (700 KRW) from the previous day’s closing price. This price is 0.8% lower than the closing price on March 22 last year (61,100 KRW).
On that day, Samsung Electronics’ stock price rose 16.9% compared to the intraday lowest price recorded on September 30, 2022 (51,800 KRW) over the past two years, but it was lower than the KOSPI index’s return. During the same period, the KOSPI index rose 19.2%, from 2,155.49 to 2,569.71.
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