SEOUL, Feb. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — Stock-backed loans among South Korea’s major conglomerate owners have surged by nearly 1.5 trillion won ($1.05 billion) over the past eight months, reflecting an increasing reliance on equity as collateral amid financial pressures. A recent analysis by corporate research firm Leaders Index, covering 79 of the nation’s largest business [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 21 (Korea Bizwire) – As global economic uncertainties persist, South Korea’s largest conglomerates are intensifying efforts to secure cash reserves, even divesting profitable core businesses and world-leading operations to strengthen their financial positions and fund future investments. According to industry sources on November 20, major business groups are actively selling profitable subsidiaries and flagship [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s top four conglomerates accounted for more than 40 percent of the country’s annual gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023, data showed Wednesday. The combined sales of the four family-controlled groups — Samsung, SK, Hyundai Motor and LG — reached 980.5 trillion won (US$729 billion) in 2023, accounting [...]
SEOUL, June 30 (Korea Bizwire) — A series of conglomerate affiliates are carrying out massive capital increases or experiencing credit rating downgrades due to a rise in their financial burden. SK Innovation Co. held a board meeting last week where it decided to increase paid-in capital by 1.18 trillion won (US$901 million) through shareholder allocation [...]
SEOUL, July 5 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s top five business groups have seen their assets surge nearly 40 percent over the past decade, a corporate tracker said Tuesday, pointing to their ever-growing clout in Asia’s fourth-largest economy. The combined assets of the leading five — Samsung, SK, Hyundai Motor, LG and Lotte — came [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — SK Group became South Korea’s No. 2 conglomerate in 2021 for the first time in 16 years, overtaking automaking behemoth Hyundai Motor Group, a corporate tracker said Wednesday. SK, whose flagship is chip giant SK hynix Inc., had assets worth 270.7 trillion won (US$226 billion) as of end-September last [...]
SEOUL, Jun. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — Going forward, the transport of goods by a third party on behalf of South Korean conglomerate (chaebol) heads will be banned completely. A new system will enable customs officials to monitor passageways for airport employees which, some say, acted as channels for smuggling. This is according to recommendations by [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 1 (Korea Bizwire) — Nearly two-thirds of South Korea’s top 30 conglomerates have been dissolved or dropped out of the standings since the 1997 Asian financial crisis, a market tracker said Wednesday. According to corporate tracker CEO Score, 19 family-controlled conglomerates, called chaebol here, disappeared altogether from the list with the remainder maintaining [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — Families of South Korean conglomerates’ heads are on the fast track as they usually get promoted to the executive level in about four years after entering the company, a corporate tracker said Wednesday. Announcing a survey on 185 members of families controlling the 77 leading business groups, CEO Score [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 31 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s retail giant Lotte said Thursday it will inject another $300 million into its hypermarket chain in China, which is bearing the brunt of Beijing’s apparent economic retaliation over Seoul’s deployment of a U.S. missile defense system. Lotte Mart, the operator of the group’s hypermarket chain, said Lotte [...]