Chipmaker tops list as best corporate boss

If you measure chief executives by the performance of his company’s stock, Yun Jong-yong of Samsung Electronics, was the No.1 chief executive officer in Korea, according to a recent report by the Institute for Industrial Policy Studies and the Korea Research Institute for Measurement and Assessment. When it comes to total shareholder returns, Lee Jae-woong, president of Daum Communications, was the top business leader. The two agencies tracked performances of stocks of 1,600 companies listed either on the Korea Stock Exchange or the Kosdaq for 18 months and assessed the value of chief executives based on that data. During his seven years in charge, Mr. Yun boosted the market capitalization of Samsung Electronics by 55.8 trillion won ($48 billion), the report said. That amount of money could have built 280 Seoul World Cup stadiums, the report added admiringly. “The roles of professional managers are growing. We designed this evaluation model on the thought that we needed criteria to gauge their value,” said Cho Dong-sung, a researcher from the industrial policy agency. Chung Mong-koo, chairman of Hyundai Motor, was placed second on the value-boosting list by enlarging his firm’s market capitalization by 6.6 trillion won during his five years at the helm. Kim Soon-taek, president of Samsung SDI, placed third; he increased the value of the firm by 2.88 trillion won. Park Jeong-in, who saw the value of Hyundai Mobis grow by 2.87 trillion won on his watch, was next. Mr. Chung, who also heads Kia Motors, was also ranked fifth, credited for increasing the stock value of Kia by 2.72 trillion won. And adversity evidently has its value. Several executives at Daewoo Group, the first major conglomerate to fail, have shone in new jobs. Yang Jae-shin, chief executive of Daewoo Heavy Industries and Machinery, was placed 17th; Jung Sung-leep, president of Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, was ranked 18th and Nam Sang-kook, head of Daewoo Engineering and Construction, took 30th place. The leader in stock appreciation plus dividends was Lee Jae-woong, chief executive of Daum Communications. Daum shareholders profited to the tune of an annualized 80-percent return. by Hong Seung-il