This story is part of Forbes’ coverage of Korea’s Richest 2025. See the full list here.
South Korea experienced its biggest political crisis in decades, triggered by the short-lived declaration of martial law in December by then-President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was suspended and eventually impeached. The turmoil as well as U.S. tariffs impacted the country’s benchmark Kospi index, which declined 15% since we last measured fortunes 12 months ago. The collective net worth of the country’s 50 richest fell to $99 billion from $115 billion last year.
The fortunes of 32 listees declined, including that of private equity maven Michael Kim, who reclaimed the No. 1 position after a year’s gap, despite a slight drop in his net worth to $9.5 billion. His MBK Partners was in the spotlight after its debt-laden Homeplus hypermarket chain ran into financial trouble and filed for corporate rehabilitation.
The wealth of Jay Y. Lee, executive chairman of Samsung Electronics, also shrank by $3.7 billion to $7.8 billion and he slipped to second place from being the richest last year. The company was slow to ride the AI boom, making it one of the laggards among tech stocks.
The biggest gainer in dollar terms this year was Meritz Financial Group chairman Cho Jung-ho, whose fortune shot up by $1.5 billion to $7.7 billion and he climbed one spot to become the country’s third-richest person. The financial heavyweight reported record net profit of 2.3 trillion won ($1.6 billion) in 2024, following the merger of its insurance and securities units.
Another fortune to take a hit was that of Kwak Dong Shin, Hanmi Semiconductor’s chairman and CEO, whose wealth plunged by more than two-thirds to $1.25 billion. Shares of the semiconductor packaging equipment maker more than halved from a year ago as revenue growth lost steam.
The biggest gainer in percentage terms was Park Soon-jae, cofounder and CEO of biotech firm Alteogen, whose wealth got a 68% boost to $2.4 billion after it signed a clutch of lucrative licensing deals. In March, it inked two worth $1.4 billion with pharma giant AstraZeneca to use its enzyme technology to develop subcutaneous (injected just beneath the skin) cancer drugs.
There are three newcomers this year: Kim Jung-soo & Chun In-jang, the couple behind Samyang Foods, who got a lift from buoyant overseas sales of its spicy Buldak noodles; Kim Hyung-tae, founder of online games developer Shift Up, joins the ranks after raising $320 million in what was South Korea’s second-largest listing last year; and Jung Sung-jae, founder of medical aesthetic device firm Classys, which saw its shares surge 50% thanks to the growing K-beauty craze.
Four listees returned to the ranks after previously dropping off, including Lee Hwa-kyung, who owns a stake in Orion Holdings, the parent outfit of the confectionery and foods group founded by her late father, Lee Yang-gu. Seven from last year didn’t make the cut, including former billionaire Ryu Kwang-ji, whose chemicals and EV battery maker Kumyang was roiled by slowing EV sales. The minimum net worth to make the list fell to $665 million from $775 million last year.
Full Coverage of Korea’s Richest 2025:
Reporting by John Kang and Zinnia Lee.
Methodology:
This list was compiled using shareholding and financial information obtained from the families and individuals, stock exchanges, annual reports, analysts, government agencies and other sources. Net worths were based on stock prices and exchange rates as of the close of markets on April 7, 2025 and private companies were valued based on similar companies that are publicly traded. Real-time net worths on Forbes.com may reflect different valuations. The ranking lists both individual and family fortunes, including those shared among relatives and may differ from the World’s Billionaires List, which includes individual fortunes with net worths as of March 7. The list can also include foreign citizens with business, residential or other ties to the country, or citizens who don’t reside in the country but have significant business or other ties to the country. The editors reserve the right to amend any information or remove any listees in light of new information.
