Official's wealth more than doubled in 2 years, driven by Samsung Electronics shares

Lee Se-ung, former governor of North Pyongan Province under the Ministry of Interior and Safety's Five Northern Provinces Committee — a vice-ministerial-level post — saw his declared assets grow by 117.23 billion won ($88.5 million) in seven months, driven almost entirely by a surge in the value of his stock holdings, including 840,000 shares of Samsung Electronics.

The Government Ethics Committee published senior officials' asset registrations in the official gazette Friday. Lee reported combined assets of 275.95 billion won in his own and his spouse's names upon leaving office. The registration date was July 21, shortly after his retirement.

That figure is 2.25 times the 122.46 billion won he declared when he was first appointed governor of North Pyongan Province in August 2024 — a more than doubling in roughly two years.

Compared with the 158.72 billion won he reported at the end of last year and made public in March, his assets rose by 117.23 billion won, or 73.9 percent. Both the total and the increase ranked first among the 82 officials covered in this disclosure round.

A breakdown of Lee's filing shows that the bulk of the increase came from a rise in the assessed value of his listed stock holdings.

The value of listed shares held in his own name climbed from 103.19 billion won to 219.13 billion won, a gain of 115.94 billion won. His filing listed 840,500 Samsung Electronics shares — down 10,600 from the previous filing and about 65,200 fewer than the 905,700 shares he held in August 2024.

On July 21, when Lee submitted his asset registration, Samsung Electronics closed at 259,000 won per share, putting the value of his Samsung holdings alone at 217.69 billion won. The stock closed at 276,500 won the following day; had Lee still held all his shares at that price, the assessed value would have risen to 232.4 billion won.

Beyond Samsung Electronics, Lee also held 18,469 shares of Korean Air, 2,845 shares of LG Electronics, 1,907 shares of Hanjin Kal, 1,321 shares of Kia and 308 shares of LG Group.

Among unlisted shares, he declared 7,768 shares of Sinil Enterprise valued at 2.4 billion won. His spouse held about 1.04 billion won worth of listed shares, including 4,966 shares of KB Financial Group, 3,585 shares of Daewoo Engineering & Construction (Daewoo E&C) and 2,060 shares of POSCO International.

The assessed value of his land holdings stood at 38.2 billion won, up just 842.92 million won from the previous filing. Lee holds forests, residential plots, farmland and road-designated parcels in Byeollae-dong in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province; Mia-dong, Beon-dong and Suyu-dong in Gangbuk-gu, Seoul; Siheung-dong in Geumcheon-gu; Bangbae-dong in Seocho-gu; Sindang-dong and Jangchung-dong in Jung-gu; and Cheongcheon-myeon in Goesan-gun, North Chungcheong Province. The largest single holding is a forest plot share in Bangbae-dong, Seocho-gu — 125,237 square meters — declared at 14.09 billion won.

His sole building asset is a detached house in Jangchung-dong 1-ga, with a site area of 1,491.10 square meters and a floor area of 908.18 square meters, making him a single-home owner. Its declared value is 9.52 billion won, up 389 million won on a government-assessed basis.

His bank deposits fell from 5.88 billion won to 5.14 billion won. A 500 million won loan from Mirae Asset Securities has been fully repaid, leaving him debt-free.

Lee declared two vehicles: a 2025 Genesis G90 Long Wheelbase valued at 140.62 million won and a 2015 Mercedes-Benz S500. His spouse holds golf memberships at Yongpyong, Oak Valley and New Korea resorts valued at 301.33 million won, as well as an Oak Valley Resort condominium membership worth 31 million won.

A native of Uiju in North Pyongan Province, Lee has served as chairman of Sinil Enterprise, president of Korea Glass, chief executive of Korea Gas, and board chairman of Sinil Hagwon, the Korea National Ballet and Seoul Arts Center, as well as president of the Korean Red Cross. He was appointed governor of North Pyongan Province in August 2024 and stepped down in July this year.

The governors of the five northern provinces serve under the Five Northern Provinces Committee, an agency within the Ministry of Interior and Safety. They are vice-ministerial-level political appointees nominated by the interior minister and appointed by the president, with one governor assigned to each of the five provinces: Hwanghae, South Pyongan, North Pyongan, South Hamgyong and North Hamgyong. The posts are largely ceremonial: the provinces are constitutionally South Korean territory but in practice lie within North Korea and beyond Seoul's administrative reach. The governors' actual duties include supporting associations of displaced northerners, promoting inter-Korean exchange projects, preserving regional cultural heritage and conducting policy research in preparation for eventual reunification.