Actor Jeon Won-ju appears on KBS's "Docu Insight," which aired Thursday, where she revealed she still holds all of her SK Hynix shares. [KBS]
Actor Jeon Won-ju appears on KBS's "Docu Insight," which aired Thursday, where she revealed she still holds all of her SK Hynix shares. [KBS]

Actor Jeon Won-ju, 86, has been holding SK Hynix shares she bought 15 years ago for around 20,000 won ($14) apiece — and the bet has paid off handsomely. With SK Hynix shares trading in the 1.7 million won range as of Friday, her estimated return stands at around 8,000 percent.

The story emerged Thursday on KBS 1TV's "Docu Insight — Semiconductor Money: The Trail of Wealth," a documentary examining how the semiconductor industry, riding the AI boom, has come to dominate South Korea's stock market and reshape the asset flows of retail investors.

Jeon was highlighted as one of the entertainment world's most accomplished stock pickers, with her long-running SK Hynix position drawing particular attention.

She first bought the shares in 2011, when they were trading in the 10,000 to 20,000 won range — before SK Group acquired Hynix — and has held them ever since. After more than a decade of holding, her estimated return compared with her purchase price has soared to between 7,000 and 9,000 percent.

When the production team asked whether she had really never sold the shares she bought back then, Jeon replied, "They're just sitting there. All of them, just sitting there."

She described her investment philosophy as choosing good companies, investing, and then waiting without being rattled by share price swings. "I wait until it goes even higher," she said.

SK Hynix shares have had a volatile run, tumbling to around 1.32 million won on July 30 before bouncing back.

The stock closed at 1.69 million won on Thursday and was trading at around 1.75 million won on Friday.

SK Hynix announced Wednesday a share buyback and cancellation program worth up to 40 trillion won — the largest such program ever by a listed company in South Korea. The company plans to acquire and retire 24.07 million shares, equivalent to 3.3 percent of its total shares outstanding.

The shareholder-return announcement has fueled expectations that the share price will continue to rise.

However, Jeon has not disclosed the exact price she paid per share or how many shares she holds, so the current value of her position and any realized gains remain unconfirmed.

Meanwhile, Jeon began investing in stocks in 1987 with about 5 million won and has since grown her assets to tens of billions of won. She has spread her holdings across stocks, gold and real estate, while keeping her personal spending in check — relying on public transportation and maintaining a household budget book.


yeonjoo7@heraldcorp.com