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Despite a jittery stock market, shares of South Korean biotechnology company Caregen tripled over the past year, making its founder and CEO, Chung Yong-ji, a billionaire—the first entrepreneur in seven months to join the country’s three-comma club.
Chung, who turns 53 later this month, is the largest shareholder of Caregen, with a nearly 64% stake in his own name. His children Min-woo and Yeon-woo each own 0.05%. Forbes estimates the Chung family’s net worth at $1.1 billion as of Friday’s close.
Based in Anyang, south of Seoul, Caregen develops cosmetics and healthcare products based on peptides, which are short strings of the amino acids that make up proteins. Its most popular product is an injectable dermal filler that treats wrinkles. Caregen says it sells and ships its products to more than 130 countries, and its biggest markets are in the Middle East and North Africa, Europe and Asia Pacific regions.
The company reported that revenue rose to almost 50 billion won ($40 million) in the first three quarters of 2022, a 13.4% jump over the same period a year earlier, while its net income increased 2.1% to 21 billion won ($16 million). Its anti-wrinkle shot was the biggest revenue driver, accounting for 45% of Caregen’s total sales.
Chung, Caregen’s CEO, founded the company in 2001 and listed on Korea’s technology-rich Kosdaq stock exchange in 2015. He earned his doctorate in animal science at Cornell University, a master’s degree in biology at Texas State University and a bachelor’s degree in genetic engineering at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul.
Chung is the first self-made billionaire in South Korea since July last year, when Kim Jae-young, founder of online game developer Lionheart Studio, joined the three-comma club after a $925 million investment from local internet giant Kakao. The South Korean stock market is currently Asia’s second-worst performer over the past 12 months after Hong Kong, with the country’s benchmark Kospi index falling 10%. Before the stock market slump last year, South Korea minted eight billionaires in the space of about six months, including the country’s first two from the crypto industry.
Two other billionaires on Korea’s 50 Richest list—Seo Jung-jin and Cho Young-sik—also made their fortunes from biotech. Seo, who cofounded drugmaker Celltrion in 2002, topped 2021’s Korea wealth ranking with a net worth of $12.5 billion. Seo was ranked fourth in the most recent rankings with a fortune of $6.9 billion. Meanwhile, Cho became a billionaire in July 2021 after he took his Covid-19 test maker, SD Biosensor, public on the Kosdaq, raising $680 million. Cho debuted on the list last year at No. 18 with a $2.35 billion net worth.
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Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkang/2023/02/05/south-korean-founder-of-anti-wrinkle-shot-maker-becomes-a-billionaire/