[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee has seen the value of his stock assets rise by nearly 4 trillion won (US$3.70 billion) this year thanks to a rally of the tech giant on the local bourse, a market tracker said on Dec. 27.

According to CEO Score, Lee, who has been hospitalized since May 2014 after he suffered a heart attack, had 18.1 trillion won in stock holdings, up 3.9 trillion won from a year earlier.

Lee is the sole Korean whose stock holdings are valued at 10 trillion won or more.

He was followed by Suh Kyung-bae, the president of top cosmetics maker Amorepacific, with 8.1 trillion won and Lee Jae-yong, Lee’s only son and Samsung Electronics vice chairman, with 7.6 trillion won.   

Hyundai Motor Group Chung Mong-koo came next with 4.8 trillion won, trailed by Seo Jung-jin, chairman of biopharmaceutical firm Celltrion, with 4.7 trillion won and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won with 4.6 trillion won.  

The data also showed the value of stocks held by Korea’s 500 richest people standing at 159.2 trillion won, up 28 percent from the start of the year.

By Alex Lee and newswires (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)