YG chief dethrones SM head in stock value

By Kim Jae-won

YG Entertainment chief Yang Hyun-suk has dethroned SM Entertainment head Lee Soo-man in “stock wealth,” with the value of his stake in his company reaching 186 billion won ($170.7 million).

Chaebul.com, a corporate research institute, said Thursday that Yang edged Lee by 36.4 billion won as the SM chairman’s stock value tumbled 22.1 percent to 149.3 billion won in December from a year ago on the nation’s secondary KOSDAQ bourse.

Analysts said that SM suffered the fall as key stars it represented, including as Jessica Jung of Girls’ Generation and Exo’s Luhan, left the company in September and October, respectively.

In contrast, YG shares gained 13.6 percent to 44,200 won during the same period, boosted by an 83 billion won-investment from LVMH Group in September, analysts said.

YG also expanded its business to the fashion industry by launching a brand called Nonagon in September in cooperation with Cheil Industries. Cheil, a fashion arm of Samsung Group, holds a 51 percent stake in the company.

Actor Bae Yong-joon, a major shareholder of entertainment agency Keyeast, ranked third with shares worth 54.9 billion won, followed by JYP Entertainment CEO Park Jin-young, who saw his stock value drop 2.3 billion won, or 9.1 percent to 23.3 billion won.

Chaebul.com added that a total of 14 entertainers held stocks worth more than 100 million won as of December.

Actor Jang Dong-gun had shares in SM Culture & Content, a management agency subsidiary of SM, valued at 4.2 billion won in December, up 630 million won, or 17.7 percent from a year ago.

TV personality Kang Ho-dong saw the value of his shares rise by 350 million won to 2.3 billion won.