A data report published by the Korea CXO Research Institute on February 15 KST assessed the distribution of individual financial assets in the Korean entertainment industry, finding that there are a total of 34 individuals who currently own over 10 billion KRW (~ $7.8 million USD) in financial assets. The study incorporated financial assets associated with domestically listed companies in the film, music, drama, webtoon, and web novel industries but omitted companies in the game, character development, toys, and tourism industries.
First, the report revealed that chairman of the board of HYBE Labels, Bang Si Hyuk, was the undisputed #1 owner of individual financial assets, possessing approximately 2.57 trillion KRW (~ $2 billion USD) worth of stocks. The combined worth of the stocks owned by all 34 individuals is said to be approximately 4.12 trillion KRW (~ $3.2 billion USD). 61.5% of this total amount is owned by Bang Si Hyuk, demonstrating the music producer/entrepreneur’s overwhelming power within the industry. In fact, it’s believed that Bang Si Hyuk is the 7th biggest owner of individual financial assets within South Korea overall, behind figures such as Lee Jae Yong; executive chairman of Samsung Electronics; Seo Jung Jin honorary chairman of Celltrion; Kim Beom Soo, the founder of Kakao; etc.
Within the entertainment industry, trailing behind Bang Si Hyuk as the second biggest owner of individual financial assets is J.Y. Park (Park Jin Young), Chief Creative Officer of JYP Entertainment. The report found that J.Y. Park possessed 395.9 billion KRW (~ $308.5 million USD) worth of stocks associated with domestically listed entertainment companies. Next, YG Entertainment founder Yang Hyun Suk ranked in 3rd place, possessing approximately 165.7 billion KRW (~ $129 million USD) worth of stocks.
Of the 34 individuals found to be owners of over 10 billion KRW in entertainment industry financial assets, 11 of them owned significant shares in HYBE, including Scooter Braun (~ 90.3 billion KRW) and Kim Shin Gyu, HYBE Labels Chief of Management (~ 17.1 billion KRW). All seven BTS members also fell in this category, with SUGA, Jimin, V, and Jungkook each owning approximately 13.3 billion KRW (~ $10.4 million USD) worth of shares. j-hope possessed the next highest amount of shares at 12.2 billion KRW, RM followed behind with 11.3 billion KRW, and Jin rounded up the group with 10.2 billion KRW.
