"Let's meet at 6 p.m. on Saturday at the clock tower of the Seoul Arts Center."
At the Seoul Arts Center in Seocho-dong, Seoul, which is crowded before performances, the clock tower is considered a prime meeting spot. This vintage-style tower, about 6 meters tall, was installed not only at the Seoul Arts Center (installed in 2013) but also at Severance Hospital in Sinchon (2015) and Seoul Cyber University in Mia-dong (2013).
All these clock towers were made by Electric Time, a U.S. company with a 100-year history, and were donated by Lee Se-ung, Chairperson of the Committee for the Five Northern Provinces and Governor of North Pyeongan Province. Interested in education and cultural projects, the Chairperson supported the installation of the clock tower at the Seoul Arts Center at personal expense while serving as its chairperson in 2013.
◇ Veteran business leader spanning "industry, education, and culture," Lee Se-ung
In the public officials' asset disclosure released on the 26th by the Government Public Officials Ethics Committee, the Chairperson was found to hold assets approaching 160 billion won. Among Korea's senior public officials, this is by far the largest fortune.
According to the asset disclosure, the Chairperson reported total assets of 158.7 billion won, ranking No. 1 among senior officials in both total assets and the increase. That was up 54 billion won from the 104.7 billion won disclosed in Mar. last year.
Most of the increase came from a rise in stock valuations. The Chairperson's stock valuation rose by 54.2 billion won from 52.1 billion won a year earlier to 106.3 billion won. In particular, the roughly 850,000 shares of Samsung Electronics held surged in value, resulting in more than 50 billion won in paper gains.
The real estate asset is also substantial. Including a single-family house in Jangchung-dong, Seoul, properties in Suyu-dong in Gangbuk District, Namyangju in Gyeonggi, and Goesan in North Chungcheong total about 46.4 billion won. In addition, deposits of 5.9 billion won and vehicles (Maybach S500, G90, etc.; about 177 million won) were reported.
Lee Se-ung, the 86-year-old Chairperson, is a displaced person born in Uiju, North Pyeongan Province. He is the eldest son of Lee Bong-su, former Chairperson of Shinil corporations and co-founder of Hankuk Glass Industries. In the early 1970s, the Chairperson also worked for a long time as a business leader, including as executive director of Donga Silk, president of Korea Industrial Gas, and chairperson of Shinil corporations.
The Chairperson's activities in education and culture are as notable as the business career. He served as chair of the boards of Jeongui Academy, Shinil Academy, Sookmyung Academy, and Sungshin Academy, and took on roles such as chairperson of the Seoul Arts Center, chairperson of the Korea National Ballet, and president of the Hanseo Culture Association, actively supporting culture and the arts.
In 2007, he took office as president of the Korean Red Cross and pushed restructuring to improve organizational efficiency. For these contributions, he received the Silver Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit (1992), the Mugunghwa Order of Civil Merit (2002), and the Silver Crown Order of Cultural Merit (2013).
In particular, he is known to have donated identical clock towers to the Seoul Arts Center, Severance Hospital, and Seoul Cyber University. The tower has clocks on four sides, allowing the time to be checked from anywhere. It lights up automatically after dark and chimes on the hour.
The current chair of the board of Shinil Academy is his son, Lee Sang-gyun, CEO of Shinil corporations.
◇ "Governor without effective control"… what the Committee for the Five Northern Provinces is
The Committee for the Five Northern Provinces, led by the Chairperson, is a government body overseeing five North Korean provinces—Hwanghae, South Pyeongan, North Pyeongan, South Hamgyong, and North Hamgyong. While those areas are currently under North Korea's effective control and thus beyond its actual administrative authority, the organization is maintained based on constitutional sovereignty.
The committee mainly holds hometown-commemoration and unity events for displaced persons and supports North Korean defectors. The governor of the Five Northern Provinces is a vice minister-level political appointee, selected primarily from people with ties to the region and appointed by the president upon recommendation by the Minister of the Interior and Safety. The chairpersonship rotates among the five provincial governors annually.
The current governor of South Pyeongan Province is Jeong Gyeong-jo, a retired Army lieutenant general and former commander of the Army's 8th Corps. Governor Jeong was born in 1952 in Busan. The governor's father is from South Pyeongan.
The governor of North Hamgyong Province is Ji Seong-ho, a former lawmaker known as a kkotjebi-turned North Korean human rights activist, and the governor of South Hamgyong Province is Son Yang-yeong, dubbed "Kimchi No. 1," who was born aboard the "SS Meredith Victory" during the "Hungnam evacuation" in the Korean War.
The governor of Hwanghae Province, actor and film producer Myeong Gye-nam, was appointed on Mar. 2. Governor Myeong is the first Hwanghae governor not from Hwanghae. Myeong was born in 1952 in Gongju, South Chungcheong. The governor's father is a displaced person from Kaesong.
The annual salary for the vice minister-level political appointee who serves as governor of the Five Northern Provinces is around 150 million won. Separate business expenses are also provided. The term is not fixed.