9 Trillion Won Increase in 10 Months...
Will Lee Jae-yong Surpass Lee Kun-hee?
Samsung Electronics Stock Soars on Semiconductor Recovery and AI Boom
Lee Jae-yong, Chairman of Samsung Electronics, has seen his stock assets surpass 20 trillion won for the first time in history. The decisive factors are cited as the recovery in the semiconductor industry and the surge in Samsung Electronics' stock price driven by the artificial intelligence (AI) boom.
On October 10, Yonhap News, citing an announcement from Korea CXO Institute, a corporate analysis research organization, reported that as of this day, Chairman Lee’s holdings in listed companies were valued at a total of 20.7178 trillion won. This figure has increased by nearly 9 trillion won in just 10 months, up from 11.9099 trillion won at the beginning of this year.
This is the first time Chairman Lee’s stock assets have exceeded 20 trillion won since he inherited shares from the late former Chairman Lee Kun-hee. At the end of April 2021, when the inheritance was finalized, the value of his holdings was around 15.6167 trillion won.
Chairman Lee owns 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. Among these, Samsung Electronics accounts for about half of his total assets. The value of his Samsung Electronics holdings soared by 63%, from 5.6305 trillion won in June to 9.1959 trillion won this month. During the same period, the stock price jumped from 57,800 won to 94,400 won.
Samsung C&T and Samsung Life Insurance also contributed to the increase in his assets, with their values rising from 5.3462 trillion won to 6.8607 trillion won, and from 2.2716 trillion won to 3.3407 trillion won, respectively. Samsung SDS also surpassed 1 trillion won.
The market views this valuation as approaching the late Chairman Lee Kun-hee’s all-time personal record of 22.1542 trillion won as of December 2020. If Samsung Electronics’ stock price reaches the 110,000 to 120,000 won range, Chairman Lee may surpass his predecessor’s record.
Experts attribute the recent stock price surge to optimism surrounding AI. The visit to Korea by Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, and the positive outlook expressed by Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, are seen as factors reflected in the domestic stock market.
Oh Il-seon, head of Korea CXO Institute, stated, "The increase in Chairman Lee Jae-yong’s assets reflects not just a rebound in stock prices, but also the global market trend shifting toward AI and the semiconductor industry."
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