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 Ar

Lee Seohyun, president of Samsung C&T, Kim Woongki, chairman of Global Sae-A Group, and Seo Kyungbae, 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 tastes, spanning Korean modern and contemporary art, contemporary art from Korea and abroad, and traditional Korean art.

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

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

The three collectors based in Korea were named side by side for the second year in a row. Kim and Seo have been selected for five consecutive years since 2022, while Lee, who first joined the list last year, has been included for the second consecutive year.

Their collecting areas, as classified by ARTnews, are also clearly distinct. Kim focuses on “Korean modern and contemporary art,” Lee on “contemporary art,” and Seo 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 auction price ever paid for a Korean artwork. It sold at Christie’s Hong Kong in 2019 for approximately 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 Korean modern and contemporary art, including works by Kim Whanki, as well as works by international artists such as Yayoi Kusama. His involvement extends beyond private collecting: he opened the S2A exhibition space in Seoul’s Gangnam district in 2022 and renamed it Global Sae-A Art Space this year. The exhibition “Highlights of Korean Contemporary Painting: Modernism and Challenges,” held from April through August, presented 25 works by 14 masters of Korean contemporary art, including Kim Changyeol, Lee Ufan, Park Seo-bo and Chung Sang-hwa, alongside “Universe.”

Lee was described as a contemporary art collector carrying on the collecting legacy of her late father, former Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee. She is chair of the Samsung Welfare Foundation and has also been continually involved in the operation of Leeum Museum of Art. When ARTnews first included Lee on the list last year, it cited the vast collection of Korean antiques and contemporary art left by her father and noted that his collecting activities were being carried on by the next generation.

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

Suh Kyungbae, Chairman of Amorepacific.

Seo has the broadest collecting range of the three. ARTnews categorized his main areas of interest as spanning traditional Korean art and contemporary art from Korea and abroad. The roots of the Amorepacific Museum of Art (APMA) trace back to the Taepyeongyang Museum, which opened in 1979. Beginning with traditional Korean art—including works related to women, tea, ceramics and crafts—the museum later expanded its collection to include contemporary art from Korea and abroad.

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

Korean American collector Lee Miyoung 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 as well as purchasing artworks. 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 donated to or helped the Whitney acquire. They are also known as collectors who have consistently collected and supported 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 collectors based in Korea have distinct areas of focus, but all share a commitment to bringing their collections and support into the public sphere through their respective cultural platforms, including 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.