This is an incomplete list of Korean billionaires and multi-millionaires, and also describes wealth in Korea.
There are several published Korean rich lists within Korea including ones issued by the wealth valuation company Equitable, the Digital Times, Korea Times, and other major Korean publications. In addition, Forbes magazine, Merrill Lynch, and other chroniclers of the power elites of the world have found sufficient high profile rich in Korea as to generate accurate numbers and reasonable deductions.
Forbes magazine has hinted at Korea having at the very least 7 high billionaires living on the peninsula, and at least ten families alone who control in the high billions in assets.
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Sociological research in Korea into the great families of wealth and privilege has not been forthcoming, so much more work has been done abroad by American and European publications such as Forbes, The Asian Wall Street Journal, and The Economist magazine as well as merchant banking units from Merrill Lynch and other holders of massive private fortunes. Internally, Korean newspapers have exercised great caution, and declined to compile lists of the rich, how they became rich, or mapped great holdings of wealth; this changes as foreign banks publish such material abroad, and articles then find their way back into Korea through the internet and foreign banking and financial publications.
Most Korean corporations, even public ones, do not as a habit list salaries of chief executives, presidents, or stock benefits to members of their boards. Individuals rarely disclose salaries, or bonuses, and there is no real attempt to open corporate books to the public, or to shareholders to indicate substantial shareholders so determining the hierarchy of the rich is difficult.
It may be assumed that a yardstick to compile salaries of corporation heads is to go down the middle between American and Japanese salaries for comparable industries, based on gross volumes of sales, number of employees, and job title.
This benchmark would suggest at least 1000 employees of major companies making more than $1 million a year of salary; and perhaps 500 earning more than $2 million based on Korea's commercial success.
Elected and appointed politicians rarely if ever file disclosure of assets, investments, or family links to corporations. It is generally assumed in Korea that any senior politician is a millionaire, and long term politicians as a family are multi-millionaires. At times of contention, public disclosures validate this.
The use of foundations to sequester assets again has not be studied at length, and foundations are not required to disclose all assets, investments, or profits; and in many cases hold, or are believed to hold, or handle trillions of won of investments that are controlled by very few people with great power and limited scrutiny or public oversight. Disclosures are usually triggered by political scandals with little public accountability in place or sociological analysis of influence.
While the wealth of Sun Myung Moon is often mentioned, and is said to be in the multiple billions, non-profit church groups and religious corporations are known to have extensive landholdings both in Korea and extremely large investments in securities and land abroad.
Occasional disclosures in the media indicate the huge amounts of wealth owned, and transferred abroad by churches, religious holding companies, lesser cults, and other missionary groups.
These have their origins going back to the great Buddhist monastic orders which had incredible economic power, controlled essential resource exports (rice and ginseng), and which had huge plantations with extensive numbers of slaves as early as the Korean three kingdoms time and as late as the declining years of the Joseon dynasty; with gains coming back under the Japanese occupation through fundraising for Korean independence movements.
Spectacular showcases of Korean Christian wealth have been displayed in huge cathedrals and church-building, and at times a lifestyle of conspicuous consumption and profligate spending by church leaders, or church cult leaders, when financial irregularities or scandals have been made public.
Estimates on financial holdings of the richest churches often exceed billions in assets and investments.
The relations between chaebols and the Korean power elite are now studied more closely as the elite itself showcases wealth and power more publicly than before as Korea places itself in the community of successful countries.
Known Korean billionaires according to Forbes analysis units include:
Chaebul.com is a local source that evaluates the fortunes of Korean businesspersons. According to its analysis of listed stock value as January 2008, the top 20 known Korean share-rich individuals are the following.
Chung Mong Joon $3.8 Billion Hyundai Heavy
Chung Mong Koo $3.2 Billion Hyundai
Lee Myung Hee $2.2 Billion Shinsegae
Shin Dong Bin $2.0 Billion Lotte
Shin Dong Joo $1.9 Billion Lotte
Lee Kun Hee $1.8 Billion Samsung
Huh Chang Soo $1.4 Billion GS
Koo Bon Moo $1.4 Billion LG
Nicholas Park $1.3 Billion Lee
Suh Kyung Bae $1.2 Billion Amorepacific
Chung Yong Jin $1.1 Billion Shinsegae
Chung Mong Gyu $1.1 Billion Hyundai Development
Chung Mong Jin $1.1 Billion KCC
Park Ki Yeol $1.0 Billion S.H Group
Koo Bon Joon $1.0 Billion LG
Kim Seung Youn $1.0 Billion Hanwha
Yoon Seok Keum $0.9 Billion Woongjin
Chung Eui Sun $0.9 Billion Hyundai
Kim Nam Koo $0.8 Billion Korea Investment
Lee Soo Young $0.8 Billion DC Chemical
Kim Jun Ki $0.8 Billion Dongbu
Kim Nam Ho $0.8 Billion Dongbu
Kim Young Sang $0.6 Billion Daewoo
The Sunday Times Rich List, published annually by the Sunday Times cites a complicated means by which it both establishes and guesses at real and hidden wealth by the nation's richest families. Researchers in Korean media have used this as a means of establishing wealth.
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