Shinsegae Chair's Wealth Soars to $1.3B on AI-Fueled Consumer Spending Boom

Chung Yoo-kyung, the 53-year-old chairwoman of South Korean department store operator Shinsegae Group, has attained billionaire status on the back of an artificial intelligence boom, despite her company having no direct exposure to the technology sector.

As the group's largest shareholder, Chung's 29% stake was valued at US$1.3 billion late last week following a staggering 220% climb in Shinsegae’s shares this year, a performance outpacing even tech giant Samsung, Forbes reported. The rally is an indirect result of surging demand for AI memory chips, which has propelled shares of global manufacturers Samsung and SK Hynix and made South Korea’s stock market the world's best-performing. Analysts note this has created a wealth effect among retail investors, who are channeling gains into luxury goods sold at retailers like Shinsegae.

The company's financial performance reflects this trend. For the first quarter of 2026, Shinsegae posted sales of nearly 1.85 trillion won (US$1.2 billion), up 11% year-on-year, while net income soared 88.5% to 145 billion won, according to Yonhap News Agency. The group operates 13 department stores, including its flagship Shinsegae Gangnam and the Shinsegae Centum City in Busan, the world's largest department store with a floor area of 293,905 square meters.

Shinsegae was founded in 1955 as Donghwa Department Store and later acquired by Lee Byung-chull, the founder of Samsung and Chung’s grandfather. It was part of the Samsung Group until a late 1990s spinoff, when control passed to Chung’s mother, Lee Myung-hee. As part of a leadership transition, Myung-hee transferred her remaining 10% stake to Chung last year, The Business of Fashion reported. Chung’s older brother, Chung Yong-jin, who received his mother’s shares in discount retailer E-Mart, is also a billionaire with a net worth of $2.9 billion.