Lee Seohyun, Kim Woongki and Suh Kyungbae Named Among World's Top 200 Collectors; Korea's "Three Distinct Collecting Styles" Draw Attention

ARTnews Releases “2026 Top 200 Collectors” List
Kim Woongki and Suh Kyung-bae Named for Fifth Consecutive Year Since 2022; Lee Seohyun Selected for Second Consecutive Year
Distinct Collections Span Modern and Contemporary Korean Art, Contemporary Art and Traditional Korean Art
New York-Based Korean American Collectors Lee Mi-young and Neil Simkins Also Make the List

Lee Seohyun, president of Samsung C&T, Kim Woongki, chairman of Global Sae-A Group, and Suh Kyung-bae, chairman of Amorepacific Group, have once again been named among the world’s 200 leading art collectors. All three are based in Seoul, but their collections reflect distinct interests, spanning modern and contemporary Korean art, contemporary art from Korea and abroad, and traditional Korean art.

Lee Seohyun, president of Samsung C&T. Samsung C&T.

On October 6 local time, the U.S. art magazine ARTnews released its “2026 Top 200 Collectors” list. Published annually since 1990, the list this year includes Lee, Kim and Suh, as well as Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, LVMH Chairman Bernard Arnault, BlackRock Chairman Larry Fink and members of the Walton family.

The three Korea-based collectors were named again this year after appearing on last year’s list. Kim and Suh have been selected for five consecutive years since 2022, while Lee, who first joined the list last year, has made it for the second consecutive year.

Their collecting interests, as categorized by ARTnews, are also clearly distinct. Kim focuses on “modern and contemporary Korean art,” Lee on “contemporary art,” and Suh on “traditional Korean art and contemporary art from Korea and abroad.”

Kim Woongki, chairman of Global Sae-A Group. Global Sae-A Group

A work emblematic of Kim’s collection is Kim Whanki’s 1971 painting “Universe (05-IV-71 #200).” It is Kim’s only large-scale diptych and holds the record for the highest price ever paid for a Korean artwork at auction. It sold at Christie’s Hong Kong in 2019 for about KRW 13.2 billion at the exchange rate at the time, excluding fees; the final price including fees was HKD 101,955,000.

Kim has collected major works of modern and contemporary Korean art, including those by Kim Whanki, as well as works by international artists such as Yayoi Kusama. His involvement extends beyond his personal collection: he opened the S2A exhibition space in Seoul’s Gangnam district in 2022 and renamed it Global Sae-A Art Space this year. At “Highlights of Korean Contemporary Painting: Modernism and Challenges,” held from April through August this year, the space presented 25 works by 14 leading figures in Korean contemporary art, including “Universe” and works by Kim Chang-yeol, Lee Ufan, Park Seo-bo and Chung Sang-hwa.

Lee was profiled as a contemporary art collector carrying on the collecting legacy of her late father, former Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee. She serves as chairwoman of the Samsung Welfare Foundation and has remained actively involved in the operation of the Leeum Museum of Art. When ARTnews first included Lee on its list last year, it highlighted the extensive collection of Korean traditional and contemporary art left by her father and noted that his collecting legacy was being carried on by the next generation.

Building on the foundation of the Lee Kun-hee Collection, Leeum has established itself as a leading private museum that showcases both traditional Korean art and contemporary art from Korea and abroad. Lee has led the museum’s operating committee since 2018 and has participated in exhibition planning and museum operations.

Suh Kyungbae, Chairman of Amorepacific.

Suh’s collecting interests are the broadest of the three. ARTnews categorized his main areas of focus as ranging from traditional Korean art to contemporary art from Korea and abroad. The roots of the Amorepacific Museum of Art (APMA) go back to the Pacific Museum, which opened in 1979. The collection began with traditional Korean art, including works related to women, tea, ceramics and crafts, and later expanded to contemporary art from Korea and abroad.

Amorepacific has also continued to support Korean art through overseas museums. In 2011, it pledged a total of USD 1 million to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) over five years, contributing USD 200,000 annually to a fund for acquiring contemporary Korean artworks. LACMA also officially announced at the time that the fund would be used to expand its contemporary Korean art collection.

Korean American collector Lee Mi-young and her husband, Neil Simkins, were also included on this year’s list. The couple, who collect contemporary art and are based in New York, have supported exhibitions and acquisitions at major U.S. museums, in addition to purchasing artworks themselves. Lee currently serves as vice chair of the board of the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the couple also served as co-chairs of the 2026 Whitney Biennial Committee.

Works by contemporary artists including Jennifer Packer, Mernet Larsen and Lyle Ashton Harris are among those the couple has donated to the Whitney or helped the museum acquire. They are also known for consistently collecting and supporting contemporary art, including works by Korean and other Asian artists.

This year’s list shows how collections can extend beyond individual purchasing power to support museums, exhibitions and artists. The three Korea-based collectors have different areas of focus, but all share a commitment to bringing their collections and philanthropy into the public sphere through cultural platforms of their own, including the Leeum Museum of Art, Global Sae-A Art Space and the Amorepacific Museum of Art.

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