Since 2004, Samsung Economic Research Institute (SERI) has conducted a survey every year on Korean CEOs' reading habits and recommended books, choosing the best books for summer. This year, SERI selected 14 summer reads: seven on economy and corporate management, and seven on humanities and culture.

According to the 2013 survey, 55.9% of Korean CEOs were reading one to two books per month, while 41.4% said they were reading more than three books a month, marking a slight decline from the 2012 survey. CEOs overall maintained a habit of reading, but the share for heavy readers among CEOs has not increased much.

About five in 10 (52.6%) said they read to "find wisdom about life" and "capture business trends," which changed little from last year (55%). Fewer CEOs were reading to "discover management ideas" while more CEOs said they were reading books to seek "peace of mind" and acquire "knowledge of culture."

In terms of the most popular reading topics, economy and management dropped slightly from last year, while hobbies and interests, and science and engineering increased, showing diversifying interest among CEOs.