Top South Korean officials have significant holdings in major international technology companies. (Image courtesy of Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, March 28 (Korea Bizwire) – Among 2,047 high-ranking South Korean officials required to disclose their assets, many have significant holdings in major international technology companies, according to government records released on March 27.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok invested nearly 200 million won in 30-year U.S. Treasury bonds last year, while National Assembly member Ahn Cheol-soo focused on relatively safe assets, purchasing substantial amounts of state-owned enterprise bonds.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon’s stock portfolio value surged from 1.55 million won to 1.05 billion won after selling Brazilian government bonds and purchasing 1,100 shares of NVIDIA and 1,241 shares of MicroStrategy, a software company known for its Bitcoin investments.
Senior officials at financial regulatory bodies, including the Financial Services Commission, Financial Supervisory Service, and Korea Development Bank, showed strong preferences for tech stocks.
Choi Won-mok, CEO of the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund, holds substantial positions in U.S. tech giants, including 340 shares of Amazon, 154 shares of Alphabet Class A, 475 shares of Apple, and 1,600 shares of NVIDIA. His children also own shares in various U.S. companies including Grab Holdings, Block, Tesla, Palantir Technologies, and Hims & Hers Health.
Among the 2,047 high-ranking South Korean officials obligated to disclose their assets, a significant number hold substantial investments in leading global technology firms. (Image created by AI/ChatGPT)
In the legal sector, Justice Minister Park Sung-jae sold all his domestic stocks, including shares in Samsung Electronics, LG Energy Solution, Naver, and Kakao. However, Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung’s spouse doubled their portfolio value from 2.1 billion won to 4.6 billion won, holding 2,382 shares of TSMC, 1,442 shares of Microsoft, 235 shares of MicroStrategy, 1,336 shares of Amazon, and 3,174 shares of NVIDIA.
Chang Yongsung, a member of the Bank of Korea’s Monetary Policy Board, saw his assets exceed 10 billion won, largely due to long-term holdings in U.S. tech stocks. His overseas stock portfolio, including 3,700 shares of Amazon and 5,260 shares of Alphabet Class A, increased by more than 1.5 billion won last year to approximately 4.2 billion won.
Some officials opted for safer investments. Assembly member Ahn, with total assets of 136.7 billion won, reported holding 1.86 million shares of AhnLab and 6.4 billion won in corporate bonds. He sold about 2.9 billion won in government bonds and purchased bonds from state-owned enterprises including Korea Southern Power and Korea Ocean Business Corporation.
Choi Ji-young, director general for international economic affairs at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, reported assets worth 41.09 billion won, with his spouse holding unlisted shares worth 36.34 billion won in Jeil Construction, a construction company in the Honam region.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
