Choi Yoon-beom, Chairman of Korea Zinc, Has Net Purchased 14.8 Billion KRW Worth of Company Shares Over the Past 3 Years

CEO Score, Investigation on Acquisition and Disposal of Treasury Stocks by CEOs of Large Listed Companies
Major Listed Company CEOs Net Purchase of Treasury Stocks Amounting to 27.6 Billion Won This Year

The net purchase amount of treasury shares by CEOs of major listed conglomerates has increased for the third consecutive year. The CEO who purchased the most treasury shares over the past three years is Choi Yoon-beom, chairman of Korea Zinc, who is currently engaged in a management rights dispute with Youngpoong and MBK Partners, with a treasury share purchase amount reaching 14.8 billion KRW. Conversely, Ham Young-jun, chairman of Ottogi, sold treasury shares worth 38.4 billion KRW to pay inheritance tax.

On the 23rd, CEO Score, a corporate data research institute, surveyed 613 CEOs who have served for three years from 2022 to this year (as of October 17) at 266 listed companies among the top 500 domestic companies by sales. The net purchase amounts of treasury shares by these CEOs were ▲2022: -24.484 billion KRW ▲2023: -3.071 billion KRW ▲2024: 27.64 billion KRW, showing an increasing trend each year.

Even after the COVID-19 endemic, as the domestic stock market failed to recover from the slump, it is analyzed that major company CEOs increased their annual treasury share purchases to enhance shareholder value and strengthen responsible management.

This year, the purchase amount of treasury shares by CEOs of listed companies was 28.889 billion KRW, and the sales amount was 1.249 billion KRW. The net purchase amount was 27.64 billion KRW, which is an increase of 30.7 billion KRW compared to last year's -3.071 billion KRW (purchase amount 32.419 billion KRW, sales amount 35.49 billion KRW). This is interpreted as an effect of increasing treasury share purchases in line with the government's corporate value enhancement (value-up) policy.

The CEO with the largest cumulative net purchase amount over the three years from 2022 to October this year was Choi Yoon-beom, chairman of Korea Zinc, who has been in a management rights dispute with the Youngpoong-MBK Partners alliance since last year. Chairman Choi purchased treasury shares worth 12.266 billion KRW last year and additionally purchased 2.526 billion KRW before his CEO term expired in March this year, resulting in a total net purchase of 14.792 billion KRW over the past three years.

Following him were Hyun Seok-ho, CEO of Hwasung Industry, with 8 billion KRW; Koo Ja-gyeom, CEO of NVH Korea, with 7.625 billion KRW; Jung Mong-ik, CEO of KCC Glass, with 7.097 billion KRW; Won Jong-seok, CEO of Shin Young Securities, with 5.164 billion KRW; Kwon Hyuk-min, CEO of Deutsche Motors, with 2.777 billion KRW; Kim Jeong-nam, CEO of DB Insurance, with 2.312 billion KRW; Jeon Seong-ho, CEO of SoluM, with 1.96 billion KRW; Kwak Jeong-hyun, CEO of KG Chemical, with 1.635 billion KRW; and Yoo Chang-soo, CEO of Eugene Securities, with 1.446 billion KRW in treasury share purchases.

On the other hand, the CEO who sold the most treasury shares during the same period was Ham Young-jun, chairman of Ottogi. In March 2022, Chairman Ham sold treasury shares worth 38.446 billion KRW to Ottogi Ramen Holdings to pay inheritance tax. He had paid approximately 150 billion KRW in inheritance tax over five years starting in 2017 for shares inherited from the late Ham Tae-ho, honorary chairman of Ottogi.

Following Chairman Ham, Kim Seong-kwon, former CEO of CS Wind who resigned in March this year, sold treasury shares worth 32.021 billion KRW in July last year; Choi Moon-ho, CEO of EcoPro BM, sold 1.84 billion KRW; Choi Kyung, CEO of Cosmax, sold 1.249 billion KRW; Kwon Young-soo, former CEO of LG Energy Solution, sold 863 million KRW; Kwon Young-sik, CEO of Netmarble, sold 586 million KRW; Kim Jin-cheol, CEO of Seoul City Gas, sold 494 million KRW; and Choi Woo-cheol, CEO of Myungshin Industry, sold 234 million KRW.

However, both Choi Moon-ho of EcoPro BM and Kwon Young-soo of LG Energy Solution also purchased treasury shares during the same period. As a result, CEO Choi had a total net sale of 1.152 billion KRW, while CEO Kwon had a total net purchase of 130 million KRW.

Meanwhile, the CEO who purchased the most treasury shares this year was Hyun Seok-ho of Hwasung Industry, who bought treasury shares worth 8 billion KRW. Following him were Jung Mong-ik of KCC Glass with 7.097 billion KRW, Choi Yoon-beom of Korea Zinc who stepped down as CEO in March with a net purchase of 2.526 billion KRW, Jeon Seong-ho of SoluM with 1.96 billion KRW, Kwak Jeong-hyun of KG Chemical with 1.143 billion KRW, Han Jong-hee of Samsung Electronics with 739 million KRW, Choi Seong-an of Samsung Heavy Industries with 512 million KRW, Kwon Hyuk-min of Deutsche Motors with 488 million KRW, Yang Jong-hee, chairman of KB Financial Group, with 385 million KRW, and Lee Kyu-bok of Hyundai Glovis with 358 million KRW in net purchases.

The only CEO who net sold treasury shares this year was Choi Kyung of Cosmax. After being appointed in March this year, CEO Choi sold treasury shares worth 1.249 billion KRW within two months.

Additionally, the treasury share purchase amount by owner CEOs this year was 21.966 billion KRW, which is 3.2 times the purchase amount of professional managers (6.922 billion KRW). This is a higher figure compared to last year (2.5 times) and 2022 (1.2 times).