Chief executive officer of Amorepacific, Suh Kyung-bae, has become South Korea’s richest man in stock value terms, overtaking Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kunhee, who is currently valued as the richest man in Asia.
Market data compiled by corporate tracker Chaebul has revealed that stocks owned by Suh were valued at 12.8 trillion won (US$11.4 billion) as of Thursday, while Samsung’s Lee held stakes worth 11.8 trillion won.
Suh’s stock assets nearly doubled from 6.7 trillion won as a result of soaring AmorePacific share prices. Shares in the company jumped from 233,000 won on January 2 to 445,000 won on July 2.
Lee Jay-yong, Samsung’s heir apparent, ranked third with stock assets of 9.4 trillion won, followed by SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won with 4.7 trillion won and Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo with 4.5 trillion won.