Excluding Lee and Chey, the value of shares held by the remaining 44 group leaders fell by 5.97 trillion won, or 8.6 percent, between the end of March and the end of June, according to corporate tracker Korea CXO Institute.
Twenty-eight of the 46 business leaders surveyed, or 60.9 percent, saw their stock wealth decline during the quarter.
Including Lee and Chey, the group’s combined stock holdings rose 28 percent to 133.62 trillion won at the end of June from 104.43 trillion won three months earlier.
The two chairmen recorded a combined increase of 35.16 trillion won, more than offsetting the losses posted by the other group chiefs.
Lee accounted for most of the overall gain, with the value of his stock holdings surging by 28.25 trillion won to 59.19 trillion won from 30.94 trillion won.
His stock wealth alone represented more than 44 percent of the combined holdings of all 46 business leaders at the end of June.
The value of Lee’s Samsung Electronics shares nearly doubled to 32.54 trillion won from 16.29 trillion won, while his Samsung C&T holdings rose to 16.72 trillion won from 9.05 trillion won.
His total stock wealth crossed 60 trillion won for the first time in early June and reached 64.33 trillion won on June 25 before retreating by the end of the month.
Chey posted the fastest growth rate, with his holdings soaring 176.9 percent to 10.83 trillion won from 3.91 trillion won.
Chey does not directly hold shares in chipmaker SK hynix but owns about 12.98 million common shares in SK Inc., the group’s holding company.
SK Inc. shares climbed to 834,000 won at the end of June from 301,000 won at the end of March, driving the sharp increase in Chey’s stock wealth.
Other group leaders posted comparatively modest gains.
Hyosung Group Chairman Cho Hyun-joon saw his holdings increase by 971.3 billion won, followed by LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo with a gain of 386.2 billion won and Doosan Group Chairman Park Jeong-won with 279.9 billion won.
Hyundai Department Store Group Chairman Chung Ji-sun and Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung recorded increases of 260.1 billion won and 235 billion won, respectively.
By contrast, Celltrion Group Chairman Seo Jung-jin suffered the largest decline in absolute terms, with the value of his holdings falling by 1.64 trillion won.
HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk recorded the steepest percentage drop, losing 35.8 percent of his stock wealth as the value of his holdings declined to 2.53 trillion won from 3.93 trillion won.
Kakao founder Kim Beom-su’s holdings also fell by 1.19 trillion won to 3.64 trillion won.
As of the end of June, 16 group leaders held shares valued at more than 1 trillion won.
Lee topped the ranking with 59.19 trillion won, followed by Seo with 11.89 trillion won, Chey with 10.83 trillion won and Euisun Chung with 7.76 trillion won.
The survey covered leaders of large business groups designated by the Fair Trade Commission whose stock holdings were worth at least 100 billion won as of the end of June.
The valuations were based on closing prices on March 31 and June 30 and included both directly owned listed shares and indirect stakes held through majority-owned unlisted companies.
Korea CXO Institute said roughly two-thirds of about 150 stocks held by the business leaders declined during the second quarter, underscoring the narrow concentration behind the increase in their combined wealth.
The institute warned that volatility could intensify in the third quarter as investors take profits from stocks that have risen faster than their earnings, while interest rates, exchange rates and geopolitical developments remain key risks.
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