Samsung Chair Lee Jae-yong got $2 billion richer this year

Corporate tracker CEO Score has updated its list of Korea's 100 wealthiest individuals. Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong has remained in the top spot, followed by his family members.

From right, Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, Korea International Trade Association Chairman Koo Ja-yeol and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won attend a state dinner hosted by the Netherlands. [YONHAP]

Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong remains Korea's richest stockholder, as the value of shares held by the country's wealthiest 100 swelled nearly 20 percent over the past year.

The chairman held stocks worth 14.7 trillion won ($11.3 billion) as of Tuesday. The figure was up 26 percent from the same day the previous year, which is the largest increase seen among the top 100, corporate tracker CEO Score revealed in a new report on Wednesday updating the rankings of Korea's wealthiest individuals.

Lee, who virtually controls Korea's Samsung Group, Korea's top conglomerate, saw his net worth increase by nearly 3 trillion won.

The executive's immediate family members were close behind in the rankings. His mother, Hong Ra-hee, placed second in the country's stock-rich rankings with a net worth of 9.2 trillion won. She was followed by her children Lee Boo-jin, CEO of Hotel Shilla, with around 7 trillion won, and Lee Seo-hyun, who heads the Samsung Welfare Foundation, with slightly more than 6 trillion won.

The 100 wealthiest stockholders currently own a combined 118.8 trillion won worth of listed shares, up 19.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the report.

Korea's stock market has been on a roll despite the slowing economy.

The Kospi has expanded 16.4 percent over the last year, and the tech-laden Kosdaq market soared nearly 25 percent.

Lee Dong-chae, former chairman of leading battery materials maker EcoPro, and three other executives joined the ranks of those whose stock ownership totals 1 trillion or more.

But other business tycoons, including Kakao founder Kim Beom-su, suffered setbacks this year, the report said.

Kim's stock holdings dropped 1.4 percent on year. The holdings of SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Amorepacific Group Chairman Suh Kyung-bae dipped 7.4 percent and 14.2 percent during the same period.

BY KIM JU-YEON, YONHAP [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]