According to Forbes updates (May 24, 2026), the richest person in South Korea today is Mr. Jay Y. Lee with assets worth 33.8 billion USD. He is currently ranked 67th in the list of the richest people in the world.
Mr. Jay Y. Lee is the Executive Chairman of Samsung Electronics, and also the head of the largest corporation in South Korea. He was officially appointed to this position in 2022, succeeding his late father after two years of vacancy.
Next is female billionaire Lee Boo-jin - Chairwoman and CEO of Shilla Hotel. She owns assets worth 12.5 billion USD and is currently ranked 250th on Forbes' global super-rich list. Ms. Lee also held a consulting position in the trading department of Samsung C&T - a group that acts as the parent company of this family.
Another female billionaire face of the Samsung family is Ms. Lee Seo-hyun, who is currently also in the top of the richest people in the land of kimchi with assets worth 11.7 billion USD, ranking 268th in the world.
In addition to the role of managing the Samsung Welfare Fund - a charity founded by her late father, former Chairman of Samsung Electronics Lee Kun-hee, she also holds the position of head of the advisory council at the Leeum Samsung Art Museum in Seoul.
Also according to updates from Forbes, Ms. Hong Ra-hee is the next name to rank high in the list of Korean super-rich with assets reaching 11.5 billion USD, ranking 275th in the world.
Ms. Hong Ra-hee is the wife of the late Chairman of Samsung Group Lee Kun-hee - who once held the position of the richest person in South Korea before his death in 2020. Before officially resigning in 2017, she had a long time leading the group's art activities as Director of the Samsung Art Museum (Leeum) and the Ho-Am Art Museum.
Besides the Samsung family, Forbes' list also records billionaire Seo Jung-jin owning assets worth 7.8 billion USD.
According to the latest data, this billionaire has risen to 486th in the world.
Mr. Seo Jung-jin is known as the co-founder of Celltrion - a biopharmaceutical company specializing in producing drugs to treat cancer, flu, rheumatoid arthritis and many other diseases.
