Lee Se-woong, governor of North Pyongan Province at the Committee for the Five Northern Provinces under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, reported to the government that as of last year his assets totaled 158.7 billion won. That is an increase of 54 billion won in one year. Among senior officials in the Lee Jae-myung administration, he ranks No. 1 in both asset aggregates and increase. Lee holds about 850,000 shares of Samsung Electronics, whose stock price more than tripled last year. As a result, the value of his current holdings exceeds 100 billion won.
The Committee for the Five Northern Provinces is a government body that administers the five provinces—Hwanghae, South Pyongan, North Pyongan, South Hamgyong, and North Hamgyong—that the government had not regained as of Aug. 15, 1945. Each of the five provinces has a vice minister-level governor. Under the Special Measures Act on the Five Northern Provinces and Others, the Minister of the Interior and Safety recommends a candidate; after receiving the recommendation, the prime minister recommends the appointment to the president, who then appoints the governor. Lee was appointed during the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.
On the 26th, the Government Public Officials Ethics Committee of the Ministry of Personnel Management disclosed the asset details of senior officials in the official gazette and on the Public Ethics System website. Since the launch of the Lee Jae-myung administration, this is the first time that the assets of all senior officials required under the Public Service Ethics Act to report asset changes to the committee have been made public.
According to the committee, Lee ranks No. 1 among senior officials in both total asset aggregates and the increase during last year. Of Lee's 158.7 billion won in assets, 67% (106.4 billion won) is in stocks. He reported holding 851,100 shares of Samsung Electronics as of the end of last year. He had held more than 900,000 shares but sold 54,600 last year, he said. The value of the shares came to 102 billion won based on last year's closing price of 119,900 won. Samsung Electronics has risen since then, and at the Mar. 25 close of 189,000 won, the stake was worth 160.9 billion won.
Lee also said he holds common and preferred shares of several major conglomerate holding companies. They include ▲ GS 182 shares ▲ LG 308 ▲ LX Holdings 149 ▲ SK 17 ▲ Hanjin KAL 1,907. He also holds ▲ LG Electronics 2,845 ▲ Kia 1,321 ▲ Daewoo Engineering & Construction 176 ▲ Korean Air Lines 18,469.
Beyond stocks, Lee reported owning land in the Seoul and Gyeonggi areas worth 37.4 billion won, a detached house in Jung District, Seoul worth 9.2 billion won, and deposits of 5.9 billion won.
No. 2 among senior officials in the Lee Jae-myung administration is Cho Seong-myeong, head of Seoul's Gangnam District, who reported 46.3 billion won. Cho said most of his assets are real estate. He owns, in his name, 39 apartments and officetels in Gangnam District, 22 neighborhood living facilities, seven medical facilities, and eight lodging facilities.
No. 3 is Lee Chan-jin, governor of the Financial Supervisory Service (40.7 billion won); No. 4 is Kim Seong-su, a member of the Gyeonggi Provincial Council (32.4 billion won); and No. 5 is Kang Eun-hee, Daegu superintendent of education (28.2 billion won). Kim Seong-su's assets increased by 7.3 billion won last year, ranking No. 2 by amount of increase. Next were Choi Ji-young, director-general for international economy management at the Ministry of Economy and Finance (27.3 billion won); Park Young-seo, a member of the North Gyeongsang Provincial Council (24.4 billion won); Han Seong-sook, Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (22.3 billion won); Yang Yong-man, a member of the Jeju Provincial Council (21.5 billion won); and Lee Geon-woo, president of the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (20.9 billion won).