Minister Han Seong-suk, a nominee for the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, has decided to sell all of her shares in Naver. Han, who previously served as the CEO of Naver, holds 8,934 shares, worth approximately 2.3 billion won.
According to officials on the 3rd, Han plans to sell all of her shares in Naver (8,934 shares) immediately upon taking office.
Under the current Public Officials Ethics Act, if the total value of stocks held by high-ranking public officials and related parties exceeds 30 million won, they are required to sell the stocks or place them in a blind trust within two months. This is to prevent potential conflicts of interest that may arise in the performance of public duties.
Han's mother is also set to sell 575 shares of Hyundai Motor (worth 110 million won) and 2,589 shares of Samsung Electronics (worth 150 million won).
The total value of the stocks that Han and her mother will sell is approximately 2.56 billion won, and it is expected to take about a week to complete the sales.
Joining Naver in 2007, Han served as CEO from 2017 to 2022.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups oversees small businesses, venture companies, and small and medium enterprises, and if Han is appointed as Minister, there is a possibility of controversy regarding conflicts of interest with Naver while promoting various support projects.
In addition to her reported assets, Han also holds stock options worth 25.44 billion won and restricted stock units (RSU) worth 439.96 million won. However, stock options are not subject to disposal until the period for exercising rights arrives. Han also owns overseas stocks and exchange-traded funds such as Tesla (approximately 1.034 billion won), Apple (approximately 246 million won), Palantir (approximately 111 million won), and Nvidia (92 million won), but these are also not subject to disposal.