Published : Nov. 25, 2013 - 19:58
Chung Eui-sun
The eldest son of Hyundai Motor chairman Chung Mong-koo is South Korea’s richest man among several dozen wealthy people in their 30s and 40s, data showed Monday.
Chung Eui-sun, vice chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, holds stock assets worth 3.5 trillion won ($3.3 billion), according to the data compiled by CEOSCORE, a website that tracks conglomerates as well as financial firms and state-run companies.
Hyundai Motor Co. and smaller sister company Kia Motors Corp. are the two major flagship units of Hyundai Motor Group, the world’s fifth-largest carmaker.
Chung is followed by Samsung’s heir apparent Lee Jay-yong, who is vice chairman of Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s largest smartphone maker.
Lee maintained the second spot with a net worth of $2.6 trillion as of Friday, the data showed. Lee is widely believed to be on track to lead Samsung Group, South Korea’s largest family-owned conglomerate founded by his late grandfather decades ago.
Lee’s two younger sisters ― Lee Boo-jin, head of Hotel Shilla Co., and Lee Seo-hyun, vice president of Cheil Industries Co. ― are also on the list of 52 people in their 30s and 40s with separate stock assets worth more than 100 billion won, according to the data.
Holdings of shares held by Lee Boo-jin and Lee Seo-hyun were valued at 695 billion won and 546.3 billion won, respectively.
Also on the list were Lee’s two relatives ― Shinsegae Group’s vice chairman Chung Yong-jin and Shinsegae vice president Chung Yu-kyung.
CEOSCORE said 43 out of the 52 people are children and grandchildren of chaebol founders, while only nine others are self-made businessmen. The data is the latest reminder that Asia’s fourth-largest economy is dominated by conglomerates, known as chaebol in Korea.
High-profile self-made businessmen on the list include Lee Hae-jin, the head of No. 1 Internet portal operator NAVER Corp., and Yang Hyun-seok, the head of YG Entertainment.
Successful artists Yang has produced include Psy whose “Gangnam Style” has been viewed more than 1.8 billion times since it was uploaded on YouTube in July 2012. (Yonhap News)