This file photo shows the buildings of South Korea’s major companies in Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — Chief executives at South Korea’s major companies have been actively purchasing their own company shares over the past year amid a sluggish stock market, a corporate tracker said Tuesday, highlighting their commitment to earning shareholder trust and enhancing responsible management.
According to a survey conducted by Leaders Index of 354 companies, 183 out of 414 CEOs possessed shares of their respective companies by the end of the first half of this year.
The number marks an increase from 155 CEOs who held shares a year ago.
The combined total of shares held by these CEOs in their respective companies reached 8,892,588 shares by the end of the first half of this year, signifying a 7.8 percent rise from the previous year.
The CEO who experienced the most significant surge in company share ownership over the past year was Kim Yong-beom, the CEO of Meritz Financial Group.
His ownership of company shares amounted to 320,000 at the end of the first half of this year, reflecting a growth of 280,000 shares compared to the prior year.
Among the CEOs of prominent conglomerates, Kyung Kye-hyun, co-CEO at Samsung Electronics Co. who is in charge of the tech giant’s chip business, held 21,050 shares in his company, having acquired 3,000 shares over the past year.
The CEO with the highest-valued stocks was Kim Chang-han, the CEO of Krafton Inc., the video game company behind “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds.”
He possessed 548,455 shares in his company, with a valuation of 85.2 billion won (US$64.5 million) based on Monday’s closing price.
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
