Kim Tae-won, the newly appointed Secretary for Youth Futures at Cheong Wa Dae (who joined last July as a corporate executive), has been revealed to hold a total of 16.14 billion won (approx. $11-12 million USD) in assets, including large-scale overseas big tech stocks.

Recently, the Government Public Ethics Committee disclosed the assets of 82 high-ranking public officials whose status changed between July 2 and August 1 due to appointments, promotions, or retirements, including Secretary Kim.

Secretary Kim reported holding a total of 11.93 billion won in securities, including 10.5 billion won worth of listed stocks under his own name. He ranks first in asset scale among currently serving officials whose assets were disclosed this time.

The majority of his holdings consist of overseas big tech company shares, including Alphabet (GOOG: 12,236 shares), NVIDIA (960 shares), Apple (439 shares), and Microsoft (322 shares). He also owns an apartment in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, valued at 2.38 billion won under his own name.

Born in 1980, Secretary Kim graduated from Korea University with a degree in sociology and joined Google in 2006. He made headlines as the "first domestic undergraduate-degree holder to join Google," being the first graduate from a domestic university undergraduate program to enter the company.

In his early days at the company, he worked at Google Korea as a "Creative Maximizer" handling advertising creatives. Later, he served as a Global Business Managing Director and Director (Senior Vice President/Executive) at Google Korea. After leaving Google, he served as the co-CEO of Innocean-like or independent advertising firm Innored, and was appointed on July 16 as the inaugural secretary of the newly established Youth Futures Secretariat directly under the Chief of Staff to the President.

Having made a name for himself in 2006 as the first domestic undergraduate graduate to enter Google, he worked at Google Korea for 18 years, rising up to the executive level (Director). After serving as an advertising company CEO, he entered Cheong Wa Dae last July.

Meanwhile, Overseas Press Secretary Lee Seung-won’s reported asset amount was calculated at a deficit (minus) of 28 million won due to debts exceeding assets. His financial debts, along with those of his mother, were around 100 million won, while his assets totaled 74 million won, combining leasehold rights and deposits.

Kim Rak-joong, Secretary for National Agenda, reported 710 million won including an apartment in Bundang, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province under his spouse's name, while Chae Yi-bae, Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister, reported a total of 1.4 billion won, including an apartment in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, and another in Jegi-dong, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul.

Among retirees, Lee Se-woong, former Governor of Pyeonganbuk-do under the Committee for the Five Northern Korean Provinces of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, ranked an overwhelming first with 275.95 billion won.

Securities made up the vast majority at around 222.5 billion won—including 840,500 shares of Samsung Electronics—alongside 381 billion won worth of land and a 9.5 billion won detached house in Jangchung-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul.

Additionally, among retired officials, former Office for Government Policy Coordination Director Yun Chang-ryeol reported 3.3 billion won, and former Prime Minister’s Secretariat official Min Ki reported 1.55 billion won in assets.

[Copyright (c) Global Economic Times. All Rights Reserved.]