Chairman Lee Jae-yong's Stock Assets Surpass 18 Trillion Won... Jump 26.8% in Just 100 Days Under New Administration

Record High Since Stock Inheritance
Samsung Electronics and Samsung Life Shares Jump by Over 1 Trillion Won
Stock Valuation Soars Following Presidential Inauguration

The stock assets of Lee Jae-yong, chairman of Samsung Electronics and the wealthiest individual shareholder in South Korea, have surpassed 18 trillion won just 100 days after the launch of the new administration. This is the highest valuation since Chairman Lee inherited stocks from his late father, Lee Kun-hee, the former chairman.

President Lee Jae-myung is smiling together while listening to the remarks of Lee Jae-yong, chairman of Samsung Electronics, at a meeting with six economic organizations and business leaders held at the Yongsan Presidential Office in Seoul on June 13. Photo by the Presidential Office Press Photographers Group. Yonhap News Agency

According to a survey by the Korea CXO Institute, a corporate analysis research agency, as of September 11, Chairman Lee's stock holdings were valued at 18.1086 trillion won. This represents an increase of over 6 trillion won in just eight months, up from 11.9099 trillion won at the beginning of this year.

Chairman Lee holds shares in seven companies: Samsung Electronics, Samsung C&T, Samsung Life Insurance, Samsung SDS, Samsung E&A, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, and Samsung Electronics preferred shares. His stock assets, which stood at about 12 trillion won at the start of the year, rose to 12.2312 trillion won at the end of March, 14.2852 trillion won on June 4 (the inauguration day of President Lee Jae-myung), 16.2648 trillion won on July 23, and have now surpassed 18 trillion won. On September 10, his assets were valued at 17.8308 trillion won, and in just one day, they increased by 277.8 billion won (1.6%), entering the 18 trillion won range for the first time.

Provided by Korea CXO Institute

The rapid increase in his stock assets was largely driven by surges in the share prices of Samsung Electronics and Samsung Life Insurance following the launch of the new administration. The value of his Samsung Electronics shares rose from 5.6305 trillion won on June 4 to 7.1502 trillion won as of September 11, an increase of more than 1.5 trillion won. During the same period, the share price of Samsung Electronics jumped from 57,800 won to 73,400 won, boosting the value of his holdings by over 1.5 trillion won.

The value of his Samsung Life Insurance shares also increased by more than 1 trillion won during the same period, from 2.2716 trillion won to 3.3595 trillion won, a 47.9% rise. This was due to the price of Samsung Life Insurance's common stock rising from 108,800 won to 160,900 won per share. Samsung C&T's value also grew from 5.3462 trillion won on June 4 to 6.3186 trillion won as of September 11, an increase of nearly 1 trillion won (18.2%). Samsung SDS saw a 23.1% (218.5 billion won) increase, from 945.3 billion won to 1.1639 trillion won during the same period, with its single-stock value surpassing 1 trillion won.

As a result, the total value of Samsung Group stocks held by Chairman Lee rose from the 14 trillion won range on June 4 to the 18 trillion won range just 100 days after the inauguration, marking a 26.8% (about 3.8 trillion won) increase.

Provided by Korea CXO Institute

Other top-ranking "stock-rich" individuals in South Korea also saw their assets increase. Cho Jung-ho, chairman of Meritz Financial Group, maintained second place with his stock assets rising by 11.3% from 11.1333 trillion won on June 4 to 12.3943 trillion won as of September 11. At the end of August, a surge in share prices temporarily pushed his assets above 12.6 trillion won, even surpassing Chairman Lee at one point. Seo Jung-jin, chairman of Celltrion Group, also saw his assets increase by 7.7% from 10.2949 trillion won to 11.0839 trillion won during the same period.

Oh Il-seon, head of the Korea CXO Institute, commented, "For Chairman Lee to reach the 20 trillion won mark in stock assets, the valuation needs to rise by more than 10% from the current level. Samsung Electronics would need to reach 90,000 won, Samsung C&T 200,000 won, and both Samsung Life Insurance and Samsung SDS would need to record around 170,000 won per share simultaneously."

The highest-ever stock valuation for an individual in South Korea was 22.1542 trillion won, recorded by Lee Kun-hee on December 10, 2020. This was before his family inherited his shares following his passing on October 25, 2020.