South Korea’s top 5 billionaires bag $40B assets

Jay Y. Lee, executive chairman of Samsung

Jay Y. Lee, executive chairman of Samsung. Photo by Reuters

Jay Y. Lee, 55, is the richest person in South Korea with a net worth of $11.5 billion, almost 19% higher than the next person.

He, also known as Lee Jae-yong, became the executive of the country’s biggest conglomerate Samsung in October 2022. The role has been left vacant since the death of this father Lee Kun-hee in 2020.

In 2017, Jay was imprisoned for engaging in bribery with a close associate of ex-President Park Geun-hye, but obtained his freedom in 2018.

Following a retrial in 2021, he faced a prison sentence of two and a half years but was pardoned by the president in 2022.

Currently, Lee and his family are settling an inheritance tax bill of 12 trillion won (approximately $8.5 billion).

Michael Kim, cofounder of MBK Partners

Michael Kim, cofounder of MBK Partners. Photo courtesy of the company

Michael Kim, 60, is the second richest person in South Korea with a net worth of $9.7 billion.

He is the co-founder of MBK Partners, private equity firm in Seoul that manages more than $30 billion in assets.

He is also a shareholder of ING Insurance Korea, the first company wholly owned by a private equity firm to list on the Korean Exchange.

Kim, who was born in South Korea, pursued his education in the U.S. starting from preparatory school and eventually acquired U.S. citizenship during his stay.

Seo Jung-jin, co-founder of Celltrion

Seo Jung-jin, co-founder of Celltrion. Photo courtesy of the company

Seo Jung-jin, 66, ranks third in net worth in South Korea at $7.5 billion.

He is the cofounder of Celltrion, a biopharmaceutical firm that makes drugs to treat cancer, influenza and rheumatoid arthritis, among others.

Seo in March last year returned as chairman of Celltrion, two years after stepping down from the role, and pledged to make major acquisitions.

Seo is a former employee of Samsung Electro-Mechanics. He has a master’s degree in science.

Cho Jung-ho, chairman of Meritz Financial Group

Cho Jung-ho, chairman of Meritz Financial Group. Photo courtesy of the company

Cho Jung-ho, 65, is the fourth richest person in South Korea with a $6.2 billion net worth. His net worth has been rising for four consecutive years. It has jumped five times since 2019.

He is the youngest of the four sons of Cho Choong-hoon, the late founder of Hanjin Group, the parent company of Korean Air.

After working for Korean Airlines in Europe he returned to South Korea 1989 and worked as a director of Hanjin Investment & Securities, as Meritz was then named.

Mong-Koo Chung, former chairman of Hyundai Motor

Mong-Koo Chung, former chairman of Hyundai Motor. Photo courtesy of the company

Mong-Koo Chung, 86, ranks fifth in net worth at $4.6 billion.

He was the chairman of South Korea’s largest automaker Hyundai Motor for 20 years before stepping down in 2020. He was succeeded by his only son Euisun, who is also a billionaire.

Mong-Koo’s second-biggest holding is in the publicly-listed auto parts company Hyundai Mobis. His wealth has been fluctuating in recent years, having risen to has high as $6 billion in 2021.

The collective net worth of South Korea's 50 richest rose 8.5% from last year to $115 billion this year, according to Forbes.