Kim Moon-soo says he's held 40 SK hynix shares for 20 years — and has no plans to sell

Amid a sharp rally in SK hynix's share price, former Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Moon-soo has drawn public attention after reports emerged that he holds SK hynix shares acquired through a past "own Hynix stock" campaign — shares that have since returned roughly 100 times his purchase price. Kim said he still holds all 40 shares and is keeping them not because he does not know how to sell, but because he sees no immediate reason to do so.

Kim told MBN on Friday that he holds a total of 40 SK hynix shares — 30 in his own name and 10 in his wife's.

He acquired the shares not as an investment but as part of an "own Hynix stock" campaign he championed at the time.

In February 2007, while serving as governor of Gyeonggi Province, Kim visited a NongHyup branch at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government office and bought 30 Hynix shares at around 20,000 won ($13) per share as part of a campaign he led to press for a scale-up of Hynix's Icheon factory.

The full extent of his holdings — 40 shares including 10 held by his wife, Seol Na-young — became public last year when he disclosed his assets as a presidential candidate.

Asked why he had not yet sold the shares, Kim said he was holding them "because there is no immediate reason to take profits."

He also rebuffed a remark by People Power Party supreme council member Kim Jae-won, who suggested the former governor may have held on to the shares simply because he did not know how to sell them. "Saying I don't know how — that doesn't make sense, does it?" Kim said.

"It's not like the process is particularly complicated. You just sell them. I'm not holding on because I don't know how," he added.

With SK hynix closing at around 2.67 million won ($1,737) on Friday, Kim appears to have earned roughly 100 times his original investment on shares he bought in the 20,000-won range.

Meanwhile, Kim expressed concern about the Kospi hovering around the 9,000 level and showing signs of overheating.

"There are many people left out of this, people who don't invest in stocks, people who have lost money — it is a very complicated situation," he said. "What matters more than stocks is the companies themselves. The public and the political community need to help businesses grow and thrive."