Shareholding value of celebrities down amid missile row and scandal

SEOUL, Nov. 9 (Yonhap) — The value of shares held by South Korea’s top 10 stock-rich celebrities fell 36.8 percent so far this year, data showed Wednesday.

The plunge is believed to be blamed on the fallout of a missile row between South Korea and China, and a corruption scandal that involves some people in the cultural industry.

Lee Soo-man (L) and Yang Hyun-suk

The combined shareholding value of the 10 celebrities stood at 380.6 billion won (US$330 million) as of Tuesday’s closing price, compared with 602.2 billion won on Jan. 4, according to corporate tracker Chaebul.com.

Lee Soo-man, the chairman of S.M. Entertainment Co., topped the list of stock-rich celebrities, though his shares were valued at 122.5 billion won, down 32.9 percent from 182.5 billion won during the cited period.

Yang Hyun-suk, the chief of YG Entertainment Inc., took second place with value of his shares falling 44.9 percent to 97.5 billion won.

It marked the first time that Yang’s shareholding value fell below 100 billion won since November 2011 when his company debuted on the stock market.

Bae Yong-joon, a major shareholder of management agency Keyeast Co., also saw his stocks drop 25.5 percent to 49 billion won over the cited period to come in third. Bae gained huge popularity across Asia for his role in the hit 2002 drama series “Winter Sonata.”

South Korea’s entertainment industry has been hit by the fallout of the diplomatic feud between South Korea and China over Seoul’s planned deployment of an advanced U.S. missile defense system.

There has been rampant speculation that China could put a damper on the rising popularity of Korean entertainment content in a tacit protest against South Korea.

Seoul and Washington say the missile defense system is a purely defensive system designed only to counter ballistic missile threats from North Korea.

Still, China has repeatedly expressed its opposition to the planned deployment of the missile defense system, claiming such a move conflicts with its national interests.

Still, Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Qiu Guohong said last month that it is “groundless” to say that China is bashing South Korea in such areas as culture and economy in retaliation over Seoul’s decision to deploy the missile defense system.

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