Samsung chief's stock wealth doubles amid Kospi rally

Samsung Electronics Chair Lee Jae-yong (Joint Press Corps)

Samsung Electronics Chair Lee Jae-yong has set a new historical benchmark for stock-based wealth, as his equity valuation more than doubled over the past year on the back of a broad market re-rating tied to the Kospi's rise above 4,000.

The Samsung chief's stock holdings were valued at 25.88 trillion won ($17.9 billion) as of Jan. 2, up from 11.91 trillion won a year earlier, according to corporate analysis firm Korea CXO Institute. The increase of roughly 13.96 trillion won, or 117 percent, was the largest absolute gain among major conglomerate heads over the period and pushed his stock wealth beyond the previous domestic record of 22.3 trillion won set by his late father, former Samsung Group Chair Lee Kun-hee.

Korea CXO Institute said the increase was driven primarily by gains in Samsung Electronics shares amid a global semiconductor earnings recovery, alongside higher valuations of Samsung C&T and Samsung Life Insurance, which together form the core of Lee’s equity portfolio.

His stock valuation was also lifted by a recent gift of 1.81 million Samsung C&T shares from his mother, Hong Ra-hee, honorary director of the Leeum Museum of Art.

The sharp rise in Lee’s holdings coincided with a broader re-rating of Korean equities. The Kospi index, which first broke above 4,000 late last year, has climbed more than 50 percent since President Lee Jae Myung took office in June 2025, supported by a semiconductor-led recovery and policy initiatives aimed at narrowing the so-called "Korea discount" through governance and shareholder return reforms.

Across the market, the combined stock valuation of 45 controlling shareholders of major conglomerates reached 93.34 trillion won at the start of 2026, up 61.3 percent from a year earlier at 57.88 trillion won, the institute said. The survey covers group heads whose individual stock holdings exceed 100 billion won, based on Fair Trade Commission classifications.

In the overall ranking, Celltrion founder Seo Jung-jin remained second with stock holdings valued at 13.69 trillion won. Kakao founder Kim Beom-su climbed from fourth to third place after his equity valuation rose to 6.55 trillion won from 3.95 trillion won, a 61.5 percent increase.