Lee Kun-hee, chairman of Samsung Electronics Co., remains South Korea's richest man for the nine straight year while his only son Lee Jae-yong joined the top three spots, Forbes Korea said Thursday.

The senior Lee's net worth jumped to US$12.6 billion from $10.8 billion in 2012, according to the Korean language edition of Forbes, as Samsung Electronics' smartphones overtook the iPhone as the world's most popular smartphones last year. He held on to the top post since 2005 when the list was first compiled.

Chung Mong-koo, chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, maintained the second spot with a net worth of $5.4 billion, though the recall of 1.9 million cars in the United States shaved $1.2 billion off his fortune.

Hyundai and smaller sister company Kia Motors Corp. sold a combined 7.1 million units last year, ranking the Hyundai Motor Group fourth in the world in car sales, the magazine said.

Samsung Electronics Co. Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong jumped one spot from 2012 to number three on this year's list with a 4.2 billion net worth.

Chung Eui-sun, eldest son of Chung Mong-koo and vice president of Hyundai Motor, also jumped one spot to fourth place with a net worth of $2.6 billion.

Most of the 10 richest men in South Korea are either heads of family-controlled conglomerates or their grown children, in the latest sign that Asia's fourth-largest economy is dominated by conglomerates, known as chaebol in Korea.

"Although on the surface the Korean list looks familiar, dominated by chaebol-affiliated names, in fact, several of the estimates are up or down by a third or more. This reflects the shifting winds of Asian business that blow through South Korea as everywhere else," said Tim Ferguson, editor of Forbes Asia, according to Forbes Korea.

Lee Jay-hyun, a nephew of Lee Kun-hee and chairman of CJ Group, stood out this year as his wealth jumped 70 percent to $1.7 billion on the back of an 84 percent leap in holding company CJ Corp.'s stock price. He moved up to No. 10 on the list from No. 22 a year ago.

CJ Group, separated from Samsung in 1997, has become the country's biggest food processer and entertainment giant.

Meanwhile, Kim Jung-ju, a self-made businessman who founded Korea's largest game maker Nexon, became the biggest loser on this year's list as he lost nearly $3 billion amid declining profits.

Kim slipped to the 11th spot with a $1.6 billion decline from the No. 3 spot in 2102. (Yonhap News)