What is David Yong's net worth? 'Super Rich in Korea' star invests $10.2M in Fifty Fifty’s K-pop agency Attrakt
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA: 'Super Rich in Korea' features some of the country's richest individuals. David Yong, one of the Netflix program's cast members, said on the KBS Joy talk show 'Unpredictable Fortune Tellers' that he owns fifteen homes in Asia and has $90 million in cash.
In 2023, Singapore-based Evergreen Group Holdings announced that it would invest around 10 billion won ($10.2 million) in K-pop entertainment agency Attrakt to support the agency's goal in the K-pop business. Evergreen Group Holdings is a company that operates in a variety of industries, including lumber and finance.
It is led by Singaporean CEO David Yong. He is also a K-pop artist from South Korea, having debuted in 2022 with the track 'In My Pocket'.
On August 10, 2023, the 36-year-old timber scion and lawyer released 'Dripping', a dance music video featuring South Korean talent DJ Soda. In April, the entrepreneur collaborated with Moon Byul of K-pop girl duo Mamamoo on the pop single 'Maybe Love'.
On August 25, 2023, the two firms signed a memorandum of understanding in an effort to attract more investment. Attrakt's sole artist is K-pop girl quintet Fifty Fifty, and both sides are locked in a contentious court dispute.
According to The Korea Times, the female quintet claimed the agency breached its contract by failing to provide sufficient medical treatment, lacking transparency in profits, and misusing business assets. The Seoul Central District Court has recently denied Fifty Fifty's plea to cancel their exclusive contract with Attrakt.
According to Forbes, a law firm representing the group has stated that it would file an instant appeal.
Who is 'Super Rich in Korea' star David Yong?
David, CEO of the Evergreen Group and a lawyer, is a prominent Singaporean businessman who owns more than fifteen firms. His companies include wood, real estate, food and beverage, lifestyle, and finance, among others.
Rainbow Bridge World (RBW), a prominent South Korean company, has signed the businessman K-pop sensation. Interestingly, the RBW Group has a commercial agreement with Yong's Evergreen Group.
David began his career as a trainee lawyer before joining his family's firm in 2014. The news of the entrepreneur's entrance into the K-pop industry caught the globe off guard.
However, it had long been his desire to connect Southeast Asia and K-pop, therefore promoting great Southeast Asian musicians by giving them a platform in South Korean music. What better way to accomplish it than to become a musician?
'Super Rich in Korea' star David Yong learned Korean to kickstart his K-Pop career
One of the most significant impediments to entering a new region was, of course, language. The majority of producers and artists in the business interact in Korean.
David said he had to learn Korean for a very short period of time. Within two to four months, he had trained and acquired the Korean language and culture.
Super Rich in Korea's David Yong expanded the family business by implementing innovative ideas
Seven years after the military regime suppressed pro-democracy protests in September 1988, Burma, quickly renamed Myanmar by the ruling government, found itself in the woods. Despite a suspension of foreign aid, a slowing amount of commerce, and foreign debts totaling more than $5.5 billion ($7.8 billion), nothing gleamed for this once-prosperous country.
In the midst of it all, an eight-year-old Singaporean child stood in the lobby of The Strand Hotel, one of Yangon's most elite addresses or, depending on your point of view, a fading remnant of colonial control, uninterested by the dust and mayhem of a city in recovery. David, the chief executive officer of Evergreen Assets Management, used to accompany his father, Yong Ing Fatt, on business trips.
It is uncommon to locate David in Singapore. He splits his time between Singapore, Cambodia, South Korea, and Myanmar, where his enterprises are located.
He returned to Singapore after earning a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Bristol. He not only obtained the right to practice law, but also demonstrated to his father that he could do it while working for the family company.
David is presently the managing partner of YSL Legal LLP, one of the firms under Evergreen Assets Management, a holding company for the family-owned Evergreen Group. He says that YSL handles all the group's legal activities, from contracts to settlements.
This legal knowledge may have helped him protect the interests of the family company, but the commercial world had other plans for him. One could argue that his entrepreneurial instincts were polished from an early age.
As a youngster, he returned from his trip to Japan with Muji stationery, which he sold to classmates for a charge or traded for favors.
Perhaps these skills learned as a youngster inspired him to expand the family company with the passion of a continuous gardener. Today, he oversees over fifteen firms, ranging from motorsports to finance.
When he joined the family firm in 2014, the headcount was about '150 to 200', with revenues ranging from '$20 million to $25 million'. David now manages over 600 workers and generated $58.7 million in revenue in 2019.
'Super Rich in Korea' is set to premiere exclusively on Netflix on May 7.
CORRECTION: We previously wrote that "In 2013, David worked as a trainee lawyer at Baker McKenzie before being called to the bar the following year. However, he never imagined rising through the legal ranks." This is false, and has been corrected. David Yong who is subject of this article never trained or worked with Baker McKenzie. We are deeply sorry for the error.
