Samsung heirs top Korea's stock-rich list

SEOUL, May 6 (UPI) -- Heirs of Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee topped South Korea's most stock-rich people list thanks to the massive wealth they inherited after Lee died last year, according to the Korea CXO Institute.

The Seoul-based business tracker said Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong became South Korea's richest business person in terms of stock wealth, with values reaching $8.5 billion as of the end of April.

Lee Jae-yong, the only son of the late Chairman Lee, saw his stock wealth almost double this year because of inherited shares in Samsung subsidiaries.

Lee Jae-yong received half of his father's stake in Samsung Life Insurance to become the insurer's largest individual shareholder with a stake of 10.44 percent, Samsung said in a regulatory filing on Friday.

Lee Jae-yong also inherited shares of other Samsung affiliates to become the de-facto chief of Samsung Electronics, the world's largest chipmaker, due to the group's cross-shareholding structure.

However, Lee Jae-yong is serving a 30-month prison term for bribing former South Korean President Park Geun-hye, who is also behind bars for corruption-related charges.

The second most stock-rich person on the list was Lee Jae-yong's mother, Hong Ra-hee, who has $10.2 billion. Hong's wealth also surged thanks to her inheritance of Samsung shares from her husband.

Along the same line, Lee Jae-yong's younger sisters, Lee Bu-jin and Lee Seo-hyun, were third and fourth on the list, with $6.94 billion and $6.43 billion respectively.

Hyundai Motor Chairman Chung Eui-sun took the eighth place with $3.33 billion, followed by his father, Chung Mong-koo, who has $5 billion.

The heirs ultimately knocked two notable business people off the list: Hybe founder Bang Si-hyuk, whose entertainment label manages BTS, and Coupang CEO Bom Kim.

"Hybe failed to meet the minimum capital requirement for our survey, while Coupang was excluded because it went public this year in New York," Korea CXO Institute CEO Oh Il-sun told UPI News Korea. "If they are included, Coupang's Kim would compete with Samsung family members for top spots, while Hybe's Kim would be around the number 10 spot."