Samsung founding chairman Lee Byung-chull ranked first for the ninth consecutive month in the October Netizen Awards Hall of Fame 'Immortal Chairman' category vote.

Lee, who has never relinquished the lead since the category was created in February this year, held onto the top spot with 455 votes (39.9%) in the final October tally. Compared to 547 votes (43.7%) in August and 529 votes (43.6%) in September, his vote count and share saw slight adjustments, but his support remained near the 40% mark.

■ Chung Ju-yung and Yu Il-han Close In on the Leader

In the second and third spots, Hyundai founding chairman Chung Ju-yung and Yuhan Corporation founder Yu Il-han both increased their vote counts and shares, narrowing the gap with the leader.

Chung rose from 280 votes (23.1%) in September to 300 votes (26.3%) in October, defending second place. Yu also held third with 255 votes (22.4%), up from 243 votes (20.0%) in September. The two founders' combined share of 48.7% showed votes becoming even more concentrated among the top ranks.

■ Park Tae-joon and Shin Kyuk-ho Hold 4th and 5th Places; Top Five Unchanged for Three Months

Fourth and fifth places remained unchanged from August and September. POSCO honorary chairman Park Tae-joon raised both his vote count and share from 86 votes (7.1%) in September to 95 votes (8.3%) in October, while Lotte group general chairman Shin Kyuk-ho took 27 votes (2.4%) to remain in fifth. As a result, the top five ranking—from first-place Lee Byung-chull to fifth-place Shin Kyuk-hong—has stayed identical for three consecutive months.

■ Sixth and Seventh Places Swap; Kim Jong-hee Regains Position in One Month

In the mid-to-lower tier, sixth and seventh places swapped again after just one month. Kim Jong-hee, founder of Hanwha Group, who dropped from sixth in August to seventh in September (8 votes, 0.7%), reclaimed sixth place with 3 votes (0.3%) in October. Meanwhile, LG Group chairman Koo Bon-moo, who had risen to sixth with 10 votes (0.8%) in September, received 2 votes (0.2%) in October and moved down to seventh.

■ Three-Way Tie at 1 Vote for 8th–10th Places

From eighth to tenth place, three candidates each won 1 vote (0.1%) in a tie. Park Too-bin (Park Du-bin), founding chairman of Doosan Group, and Cho Joong-hoon, founder of Hanjin Group, who each won 5 votes (0.4%) for a tie at ninth in September, placed eighth and ninth, respectively, in October. Choi Jong-hyun, chairman of SK Group, who was eighth with 6 votes (0.5%) in September, also received 1 vote (0.1%) to land in tenth place.