Survey on Non-Owner Stock Valuations
Three "Billionaire Stockholders" at Krafton with Over 200 Billion KRW Each
It has been found that there are 30 non-owner shareholders with stock holdings exceeding 10 billion KRW in listed companies with a market capitalization of over 2 trillion KRW. Notably, the top three individuals on this list are from Krafton, a game company renowned for its exceptional employee benefits, such as providing up to 100 million KRW in childbirth incentives to employees who have children.
According to the Korea CXO Institute, a corporate analysis organization, as of May 2, among 151 listed stocks with a market capitalization exceeding 2 trillion KRW, an analysis of the stock valuation of executives and shareholders who are not members of the owner family revealed that there were 201 executives with stock assets exceeding 1 billion KRW.
By stock valuation brackets, the largest group was those with holdings in the 1 billion KRW range (99 people), followed by 2 billion KRW (29 people), 3 billion KRW (17 people), 4 billion KRW (8 people), and 5 to 10 billion KRW (18 people). The number of non-owner shareholders with stock assets exceeding 10 billion KRW increased by three from 27 in the previous survey in September last year to 30.
What is particularly noteworthy is that the top three non-owner stockholders all came from the Krafton Group. The number one spot went to Kim Junghoon, CEO of RisingWings, a Krafton affiliate, who owns 843,275 shares of Krafton, with a stock valuation of 324.6 billion KRW. This represents an increase of over 100 billion KRW compared to last year’s figure of 204.9 billion KRW, largely due to Krafton's share price rising from 243,000 KRW at the time of the previous survey to 385,000 KRW this year.
The second spot went to Kim Hyungjoon, CEO of Enjoy Studio, a new Krafton Group subsidiary, who was found to own 273.3 billion KRW in stock assets. The third place was taken by Kim Changhan, the current CEO of Krafton, who owns 554,055 shares (213.3 billion KRW) in stock assets.
At Krafton, including these three, a total of eight individuals were found to have stock assets exceeding 10 billion KRW. This group includes Song Inae, CEO of BonAngels Venture Partners (51 billion KRW), Ryu Sungjoong, Krafton shareholder (34.9 billion KRW), Adam Maxwell Maguire, Krafton shareholder (22.3 billion KRW), Charles Goodhue Cleveland, Krafton shareholder (22.3 billion KRW), and Cho Dooin, CEO of Bluehole Studio (12.1 billion KRW).
The fourth and fifth largest stockholders were from Rainbow Robotics, where Samsung Electronics is the largest shareholder. CEO Lee Jungho holds 193.7 billion KRW, and Chief Technology Officer Heo Jungwoo holds 98 billion KRW. Following them are Scott Samuel Brown, internal director of HYBE and CEO of HYBE America (95.8 billion KRW), Son Inho, internal director of Silicon Two (89.7 billion KRW), Min Kyunglip, CSO of Shift Up (58.2 billion KRW), and Lee Jaechun, Vice President of ABL Bio (51.7 billion KRW), each with stock assets exceeding 50 billion KRW.
O Ilseon, head of the CXO Institute, stated, "Unlike owner families, non-owner executives and other major stockholders have emerged in greater numbers from the gaming and pharmaceutical sectors than from top sales conglomerates. If companies in artificial intelligence (AI), gaming, robotics, biotechnology, and entertainment go public in the future, we are likely to see even more young, emerging stock-rich individuals since the 1980s."
Meanwhile, according to last year's business report, the average annual salary per employee at Krafton was 98 million KRW. The company is also referred to as a "dream workplace" due to its extensive benefits. For example, Krafton provides a lump-sum payment of 60 million KRW to employees upon childbirth and an additional 5 million KRW per year for eight years of continued employment, totaling 100 million KRW as part of its childbirth incentive policy.
Other benefits include interest-free housing loans and financial support. When employees relocate closer to the company, Krafton offers an interest-free loan of 30 million KRW through its housing loan program. In addition, the company provides support for home purchase funds and interest on rental deposit loans, up to a limit of 100 million KRW. The limit for interest support may be increased in the future. For new employees with less than two years of experience who have no family ties in Seoul or Gyeonggi, Krafton allows them to use a share house for six months without any accommodation fees.
Employees are also provided with free meals worth about 15,000 KRW per meal, not only for lunch but also for breakfast and dinner. Many employees stay for dinner after work, and there is even an option to take home packed meals. At the company cafe, all beverages are available for 500 to 1,500 KRW.
Krafton operates not only an in-house cafe but also a bar and a game lounge where employees can enjoy games. There are also nap rooms equipped with massage chairs that can be used during working hours; for example, employees can relax in the nap room after having a beer at the office. Additional benefits include mind care programs for mental wellness, company-run daycare centers in Pangyo and Yeoksam, and support for foreign language and self-development education expenses.
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