South Korea’s self-made billionaires outperform old-school tycoons as economy enters new era
- Messaging app Kakao’s founder Brian Kim recently replaced Samsung group heir Jay Y. Lee as the nation’s richest person
- Experts say the changing of the guard is a sign that South Korea’s economy is becoming less reliant on the influential family-controlled conglomerates
There’s Chang Byung-gyu who completed a listing of game developer Krafton Inc. just this week, and Bom Kim, a South Korea-born American national who took e-commerce giant Coupang Inc. public in the US earlier this year. Seo Jung-jin, the founder of biotech firm Celltrion Inc., is worth about US$10 billion.
The changing of the guard is a sign that South Korea’s US$1.6 trillion economy is entering a new era of growth, becoming less reliant on the family-controlled corporations that wield immense power in all aspects of life.
Some experts say the new wealthy are more aware of rising inequality and are more willing to give back to society. Others question whether they’ll be any different from those who built their old empires using cosy links to politicians and bureaucrats.
“It’s a positive shift for South Korea,” said Kim Kyonghwan, dean of the graduate school of entrepreneurship at Sungkyunkwan University in Suwon, a city near Seoul.
“The new rich offer a silver lining for younger folks by showing how fortunes can be made independently, rather than from inheritance.”
