Value of shares owned by 30 richest stockholders in Korea declines 5%

The combined value of shares owned by South Korea's 30 richest stockholders dropped 5 percent compared with the beginning of the year, industry data showed Tuesday.

As of Monday, the combined value of shares owned by the stockholders stood at 85.8 trillion won ($79 billion), down 4.49 trillion won from 90 trillion won on Jan. 2, according to market tracker Chaebul.com.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index, compared with the closing price of 2,479.65 of the first trading session of this year, lost 0.57 percent to 2,465.57 on Monday.

Bang Jun-hyuk, chairman of South Korea's top mobile game developer Netmarble Corp., reported the largest loss, with the value of his shares plunging 24.9 percent from 3.9 trillion won to 2.93 trillion won during the cited period, according to the data.

Bang holds a 24.34 percent stake in the company.

Lee Kun-hee, chief of Samsung Group, saw his stock value decline 3.9 percent to 17.8 trillion won. He has been hospitalized since May 2014 after suffering a heart attack.

The stock value of Seo Jung-jin, chairman of pharmaceutical giant Celltrion Inc., fell 13.4 percent to 4.57 trillion won, and Suh Kyung-bae, head of South Korea's leading cosmetics firm Amorepacific Group, also lost 7.2 percent to 7.9 trillion won, it said.(Yonhap)