6 Out of 10 Group Chairpersons Saw Stock Value Fall in Q2... Chairman Chey Tae-won Joins "10 Trillion Won Club" for the First Time

Korea CXO Research Institute Survey

Conglomerate Chairpersons' Stock Assets Up by 29 Trillion Won in Q2

But Down Without Lee Jaeyong and Chey Taewon

The combined stock value of major conglomerate chairpersons in South Korea increased by over 29 trillion won during the second quarter of this year. However, more than 60% of the surveyed chairpersons saw their stock assets decrease, resulting in a mixed performance. This is mainly a statistical illusion caused by the sharp surge in equity values belonging to Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won. Excluding these two chairpersons, the combined stock assets of the remaining leaders actually decreased by nearly 6 trillion won.

On July 14, the Korea CXO Research Institute, a corporate analysis specialist, released the results of the "2026 Q2 Major Group Chairpersons' Stock Valuation Change Survey." The survey targeted 46 chairpersons from business groups managed by the Fair Trade Commission who, as of the end of June this year, each held stock assets valued at over 100 billion won. The calculation includes cases where chairpersons directly own shares in listed companies, as well as indirect holdings via unlisted companies in which they own more than 50% equity.

Results of "The 2026 Q2 Major Group Owners' Stock Valuation Changes Survey" by Korea CXO Institute, a company analysis specialist. Korea CXO Institute

According to the survey, the total stock valuation of the 46 group chairpersons increased by 28% (29.1906 trillion won), rising from 104.4301 trillion won at the end of March to 133.6207 trillion won at the end of June. However, when excluding Chairman Lee and Chairman Chey, the combined stock valuation of the remaining 44 chairpersons actually fell by 8.6% (5.9716 trillion won) during the same period. Stock assets decreased for 28 of the chairpersons—accounting for 60.9% of the total survey pool—highlighting that the gains were concentrated among only a few individuals.

Chairman Chey posted the highest growth rate in stock valuation during the second quarter. His stock assets surged by 176.9%, jumping from 3.9101 trillion won at the end of March to 10.8259 trillion won at the end of June, allowing him to enter the "10 trillion won club" for the first time. Chairman Chey does not directly own shares in SK hynix, but the dramatic rise in the closing price of common shares of SK Inc.—the holding company at the top of SK Group's governance structure—from 301,000 won to 834,000 won fueled this sharp increase in value.

In terms of absolute increase, Chairman Lee ranked first by a significant margin. His stock valuation grew by 28.2463 trillion won, soaring from 30.9414 trillion won at the end of March to 59.1878 trillion won at the end of June, buoyed by share price increases in Samsung Electronics and Samsung C&T.

Other chairpersons who saw stock valuations rise by more than 20% included Koo Ja-eun of LS Group (up 34.1%), Chung Ji-seon of Hyundai Department Store Group (up 27.6%), and Cho Hyun-joon of Hyosung Group (up 27.1%). Chairman Koo benefited from the performance of LS Corp., while Chairman Chung joined the "1 trillion won club" due to Hyundai Department Store's stock price appreciation. Chairman Cho saw his assets grow thanks to a rise in Hyosung Heavy Industries' share price.

Results of the '2026 Q2 Major Group Heads Stock Valuation Change Survey' by Korea CXO Institute, a corporate analysis specialist. Korea CXO Institute

Conversely, some chairpersons experienced steep declines in stock values. Seo Jung-jin, Chairman of Celltrion Group, saw his stock valuation drop by 1.6403 trillion won over the past three months—the largest decline among those surveyed. Bang Si-hyuk, Chairman of HYBE, also suffered a reduction of 1.4058 trillion won, recording stock assets of 2.5263 trillion won due to falling share prices. Brian Kim, founder of Kakao, saw his assets decrease by 1.1869 trillion won to 3.6412 trillion won.

As of the end of June, there were 16 chairpersons holding stock assets worth over 1 trillion won, two fewer than at the end of March. Chairman Lee topped the list with 59.1878 trillion won, followed by Chairman Seo (11.8944 trillion won), Chairman Chey (10.8259 trillion won), and Chairman Chung (7.7577 trillion won).

Although not included in the official rankings, Hong Ra-hee, former director of Leeum, held stock assets exceeding 24.4193 trillion won. Lee Boo-jin, CEO of Hotel Shilla, held more than 23.4923 trillion won, and Lee Seo-hyun, CEO of Samsung C&T, held more than 21.6393 trillion won. Cho Jung-ho, Chairman of Meritz Financial Group, also belonged to the "10 trillion won club" with 10.3220 trillion won.

Ilseon Oh, head of the Korea CXO Research Institute, commented, "The group chairpersons collectively hold about 150 different stocks, and roughly two-thirds of these stocks traded lower at the end of June compared to the end of March. In the second half of this year, stocks whose prices outpaced corporate earnings in the first half are likely to undergo price corrections."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.