NewJeans Creator Min Hee Jin is now one of the Wealthiest Female Stockholders in South Korea

Min Hee Jin, the CEO of HYBE's sub-label ADOR, who created the idol group NewJeans, has placed her name on the list of the richest female stock owners without being from a wealthy chaebol (conglomerate company) family.

Among the list of wealthiest female stock owners are the members of the Samsung family, including former Leeum Museum of Art director Hong Ra Hee, Hotel Shilla president Lee Boo Jin, and Samsung Welfare Foundation chairman Lee Seo Hyun. These three women from the Samsung empire, maintained the top 3 positions as the wealthiest female stockholders as their stock holdings increased through inheritance.

On May 19, the Leaders Index, a research institute for corporate analysis, surveyed the top 30 female stockholders among the top chaebol families in South Korea. And based on the stock market closing prices on the 12th of this month, the value of their combined stocks was estimated at 23.7173 trillion KRW (17.9 billion USD). Compared to the estimated value of 12.563.2 trillion KRW (9.468 billion USD) on January 20, 2020, which was before COVID-19, the value has increased by 88.8% in 3 years and 4 months.

This trend is primarily attributed to the significant inheritance or gifting of shares during the pandemic-induced slump in stock prices. As the market rebounded, the net worth of these beneficiaries experienced a substantial boost, resulting in the large increase in their wealth.

The recent surge in the stock value of the three principal female members of the Samsung family has propelled them to the top three spots among the wealthiest female shareholders. Two women, each from the distinguished LG and Shinsegae families, also feature prominently in the top 10 rankings. Apart from the SK Happiness Foundation's chairwoman, Chey Ki Won - who also happens to be the younger sister of SK Group chairman Chey Tae Won - and secured 4th place, the majority of the top 10 wealthiest female stockholders hail from the Samsung and LG families.

Among the 417 leading female stockholders, only 34 do not belong to a chaebol family. Among these independent wealth holders are Choi Soo Yeon, the CEO of Naver, and Min Hee Jin, the CEO of ADOR. These 34 self-made women collectively hold 8.1% of the total stock wealth owned by the top 417 female shareholders.