Lee Jae-yong's stock wealth drops W13tr while Celltrion chief gains over 1 trillion

The combined stock wealth of South Korea's top conglomerate chiefs, including Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, shrank by more than 18 trillion won ($13.2 billion) in the third quarter alone, according to a new report. Against that trend, Celltrion Group Chairman Seo Jung-jin saw his stock holdings grow by more than 1 trillion won over the same period.

According to the Korea CXO Research Institute, the combined stock valuation of 48 conglomerate heads fell from 134.02 trillion won at the end of June to 115.44 trillion won at the end of September — a decline of 18.58 trillion won, or 13.9 percent, in just three months.

The fortunes of individual chiefs, however, diverged sharply.

Of the 48 chiefs, 25 saw their stock wealth increase while 23 recorded declines. The losses were particularly steep among those who fell, with their combined holdings dropping by more than 22 trillion won and dragging down the overall figure.

The standout gainer was Seo, whose stock valuation rose from 11.89 trillion won at the end of June to 12.93 trillion won at the end of September — an increase of 1.04 trillion won, or 8.7 percent, the largest gain in absolute terms among all 48 chiefs.

Analysts attributed the increase less to a rise in Celltrion's share price and more to growth in the number of shares Seo holds.

Celltrion's share price edged up just 2.5 percent over the period, from 173,300 won to 177,700 won, but Seo's shareholding grew by about 6 percent, pushing his stock wealth up by more than 1 trillion won.

In terms of percentage gain, GS Group Honorary Chairman Huh Chang-soo topped the rankings.

Huh's stock valuation jumped 53.6 percent, from 415.8 billion won to 638.5 billion won, driven by share price gains of 61.7 percent at GS and 35.3 percent at GS Engineering & Construction.

By contrast, the stock wealth of the chiefs of South Korea's three largest conglomerates fell sharply.

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong saw his holdings drop from 59.19 trillion won to 45.99 trillion won, a decline of 13.2 trillion won. SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won lost 3.19 trillion won, and Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung shed 1.18 trillion won.

The three chiefs' combined stock wealth declined by 17.57 trillion won.

Despite the losses, Lee retained the top spot among all conglomerate heads, with stock holdings of 45.99 trillion won as of the end of September.

Seo ranked second at 12.93 trillion won, followed by Chey in third place at 7.64 trillion won.

As of the end of September, 17 conglomerate heads held stock wealth exceeding 1 trillion won, one more than at the end of June.

DB Group founder Kim Jun-ki, with holdings of 1.08 trillion won, was the newest member to join the "1 trillion won club."