Samsung chairman couple's equities soar 1.6 tln won in past 7 months

Equity assets owned by Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee and his wife soared 1.6 trillion won ($1.4 billion) in the past seven months helped by gains in its chipmaking affiliate, an industry tracker said Sunday.

The value of equity assets, including shares in Samsung Electronics Co., held by the Samsung chief and his wife, Hong Ra-hee, jumped 13 percent to 14.13 trillion won as of July 29 from 12.51 trillion won on Jan. 4, data provided by Chaebul.com showed.

The sharp gain in their combined equity assets was largely due to a rebound in the share prices of Samsung Electronics this year.

During the cited seven-month period, the tech giant's share prices climbed 22 percent to 1.54 million won, far outperforming the broader KOSPI's 2.8 percent gain.

Chairman Lee owns a 3.44 percent stake, or 4.99 million shares, in Samsung Electronics and his wife holds a 0.75 percent stake in the maker of the Galaxy smartphones and memory chips, according to the chaebol-focused market research company.

In contrast, Samsung Group's heir apparent Lee Jae-yong saw the value of his equity assets fall 9.4 percent, or 717.6 billion won, to 6.89 trillion won during the same period. The vice chairman of Samsung Electronics has a 0.58 percent stake in Samsung Electronics.

His two sisters -- Boo-jin, chief executive of Hotel Shilla Co., and Seo-hyeon, CEO of Samsung C&T Co. -- also suffered a 15 percent decline, respectively, in their equity values during the mentioned period.

The declines came from poor performances in other Samsung Group stocks, such as Samsung SDS, an information technology system and services provider, which plunged 38 percent to 157,000 won from 254,000 won during the same period.

The senior Lee has been hospitalized for over two years since he suffered a heart attack on May 10, 2014. Since then, Samsung has stepped up its efforts to fully transfer control of the country's biggest family-run conglomerate to the junior Lee. (Yonhap)