Stock wealth of 48 Korean conglomerate chiefs falls 18.6 trillion won in third quarter
In short
The combined stock value of 48 heads of major South Korean business groups fell 18.5776 trillion won, or 13.9%, in the third quarter to 115.4423 trillion won as of end-September, according to a Korea CXO Institute survey cited by Yonhap and Asia Economy. Declines at the three largest groups accounted for 17.5659 trillion won of that, with Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Jae-yong down 13.1984 trillion won. Twenty-five chiefs gained and 23 lost, but the losses far outweighed the gains.
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The combined stock value held by 48 heads of major South Korean business groups fell by 18.5776 trillion won, or 13.9%, in the third quarter of 2026, according to a Korea CXO Institute survey reported by Yonhap and Asia Economy. The total declined from 134.0199 trillion won at the end of June to 115.4423 trillion won at the end of September, the institute said. The survey covers heads of large business groups whose stock valuations exceed 1 billion won and that are managed by the Fair Trade Commission, according to Yonhap. [ 1 , 3 ]
The three largest groups' chairmen accounted for 17.5659 trillion won of the decline. Lee Jae-yong of Samsung Electronics fell 13.1984 trillion won, or 22.3%, to 45.9894 trillion won from 59.1878 trillion won. Asia Economy attributed his decline to share weakness at Samsung Electronics (-19.6%) and Samsung C&T (-27.1%). Choi Tae-won of SK fell 3.1862 trillion won to 7.6397 trillion won and Chung Eui-sun of Hyundai Motor fell 1.1813 trillion won, or 15.2%, to 6.5764 trillion won, the reports said. Yonhap noted that Lee's valuation retreated from the 50 trillion won range in the second quarter to the 40 trillion won range. [ 1 , 3 ]
Among the 48 chiefs, 25 recorded gains and 23 recorded losses. The gains totalled about 3.4267 trillion won against losses of 22.0042 trillion won, which the reports said drove the overall contraction. [ 1 , 3 ]
Several chairmen recorded large increases. Heo Chang-soo, honorary chairman of GS, posted the highest percentage gain, 53.6%, to 638.5 billion won from 415.8 billion won, which Asia Economy tied to gains in GS Holdings (+61.7%) and GS E&C (+35.3%). Seo Jung-jin of Celltrion added 1.0372 trillion won, or 8.7%, to 12.9316 trillion won, the largest absolute increase, an outcome both outlets attributed mainly to his roughly 6% increase in Celltrion shares rather than to price gains. Yonhap also reported that Lee Woong-yeol, honorary chairman of Kolon, saw his stock value fall 61.2%, from 650 billion won to 252.4 billion won. [ 1 , 3 ]
Asia Economy reported that the number of chiefs in the 1 trillion won club rose by one from the previous quarter to 17, with Kim Joon-ki, founder and chairman of DB Group, entering at 1.0808 trillion won on a 38.2% rise in DB Insurance shares. The top five by value were Lee Jae-yong at 45.9894 trillion won, Seo Jung-jin at 12.9316 trillion won, Choi Tae-won at 7.6397 trillion won, Chung Eui-sun at 6.5764 trillion won and Cho Hyun-joon of Hyosung at 4.083 trillion won. [ 1 ]
Oh Il-sun, head of the Korea CXO Institute, said the third-quarter market saw holding companies, insurance and petrochemicals perform well while semiconductors, automobiles, distribution and food struggled, producing mixed outcomes among the chairmen. He said the fourth quarter would likely bring continued reshuffling of assets as share prices and stakes change. [ 1 ]
Why it matters
The figures show how sharply the country's most visible corporate owners' paper wealth tracks share prices in semiconductors, autos and other leading industries. The institute's head said the fourth quarter is likely to bring further reshuffling of assets as share prices and stakes shift, suggesting the concentration of wealth at the top of Korea's conglomerates remains volatile.
Key facts
- The combined stock value of 48 conglomerate heads with holdings of 1 billion won or more fell from 134.0199 trillion won at end-June to 115.4423 trillion won at end-September, a drop of 18.5776 trillion won or 13.9%, per the Korea CXO Institute. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Lee Jae-yong, chairman of Samsung Electronics, lost 13.1984 trillion won, or 22.3%, falling from 59.1878 trillion won to 45.9894 trillion won. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Choi Tae-won of SK fell 3.1862 trillion won to 7.6397 trillion won and Chung Eui-sun of Hyundai Motor fell 1.1813 trillion won to 6.5764 trillion won. [ 1 , 3 ]
- The three chairmen together accounted for 17.5659 trillion won of the quarterly decline. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Of the 48 chiefs, 25 saw gains totalling about 3.4267 trillion won while 23 saw losses of 22.0042 trillion won. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Heo Chang-soo, honorary chairman of GS, posted the largest percentage gain, 53.6%, to 638.5 billion won, while Seo Jung-jin of Celltrion added 1.0372 trillion won, the largest absolute increase, to 12.9316 trillion won. [ 1 , 3 ]
- The number of chiefs in the 1 trillion won club rose by one from the previous quarter to 17, with Kim Joon-ki of DB entering at 1.0808 trillion won. [ 1 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- The combined stock value of the 48 conglomerate heads fell by more than 18 trillion won in the third quarter, a decline of about 13.9%. [ 1 , 3 ]
- The chairmen of Samsung, SK and Hyundai Motor together accounted for about 17.5 trillion won of the decline. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Lee Jae-yong's stock value dropped by about 13.2 trillion won to roughly 45.99 trillion won. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The data comes from a Korea CXO Institute survey of conglomerate heads whose stock holdings exceed 1 billion won. [ 1 , 3 ]
- More chiefs lost value than the gains recorded by those who rose: 25 gained and 23 lost. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Seo Jung-jin of Celltrion recorded the largest absolute increase in stock value. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Heo Chang-soo of GS recorded the largest percentage increase. [ 1 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- Why Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Jae-yong's valuation fell so sharply Asia Economy attributes the drop to weakness in Samsung Electronics (-19.6%) and Samsung C&T (-27.1%) shares, but this detail appears only in one document.
- The size of the decline at individual companies that drove the other chairmen's losses The documents give percentage moves only for Samsung Electronics, Samsung C&T, GS, GS E&C and DB Insurance; other holdings are not broken down.
- Which months within the quarter saw the largest moves Both documents report only end-June and end-September figures, with no month-by-month data.
- The scale of losses among chiefs outside the top three Yonhap cites Lee Woong-yeol of Kolon as down 61.2%, a figure that appears in only one document.