Hive, Wonik, Youngwon Designated as Large Business Groups... Coupang Jumps from 45th to 27th in Corporate Rankings

Fair Trade Commission Designates 88 Sites Including 7 New Locations

This year, 88 conglomerates with total assets exceeding 5 trillion won were designated. Entertainment, hotel, and tourism companies that rapidly expanded their business due to the benefits of the endemic (periodic outbreak of infectious diseases) newly entered the conglomerate group. Coupang's Chairman Kim Beom-seok, whose ranking surged 18 places, avoided being designated as the same person (head) again this year due to his American nationality.

According to the 2024 disclosure target conglomerate status announced by the Fair Trade Commission on the 15th, seven new conglomerates with assets over 5 trillion won (disclosure target conglomerates) were newly designated, including Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance, Youngone, Daishin Securities, HYBE, Sono International, Wonik, and Paradise.

With the globalization of K-pop and the recovery of consumer sentiment after the endemic, the entertainment, hotel, and tourism industries rapidly grew, increasing the number of conglomerates. HYBE, with total assets of 5.25 trillion won as of the end of last year, surged by 440 billion won compared to 4.81 trillion won a year earlier, representing a typical case. HYBE is an entertainment company housing many global fandom artists such as BTS and NewJeans, and its business rapidly expanded due to revenue growth from albums, performances, and content driven by the globalization of K-pop. As a result, it was designated as a conglomerate for the first time in the entertainment industry sector.

Youngone is a group centered on Youngone Trading, which sells famous brands such as The North Face and Lululemon through an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) method. As of the end of last year, its total assets reached 6.09 trillion won, increasing by 1.26 trillion won compared to the previous year (4.83 trillion won).

There was also an impact from the rise in asset values such as land. Daishin Securities (total assets 5.76 trillion won) increased its total assets due to interim dividends and asset revaluation, Wonik (5.03 trillion won) due to increases in inventory and accounts receivable, and Sono International (5.18 trillion won) due to land revaluation, leading to their inclusion in the conglomerate group.

Thanks to new ship orders from HD Hyundai, HD Hyundai and GS changed their rankings within the top 10 to 8th and 9th, respectively. GS's total assets decreased to 80.82 trillion won due to repayment of borrowings (about 1.1 trillion won).

EcoPro, designated as a disclosure target conglomerate for the first time last year, rose 15 places from 62nd to 47th this year and was designated as a mutual investment restriction conglomerate. Coupang, first designated in 2021 and designated as a mutual investment restriction conglomerate last year, rose 18 places from 45th to 27th this year compared to last year.

With the change in accounting standards for insurance liabilities from cost to market value, the fair assets and rankings of insurance-focused groups rose significantly. Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance, excluded from designation last year, was re-designated this year, and insurance-focused groups such as Kyobo Life Insurance and DB also rose more than 10 places in ranking.

From this year, the criteria for mutual investment restriction conglomerates changed to 0.5% or more of nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Accordingly, Korea & Company Group (10.38 trillion won), which fell short of the designation standard of total assets of 10.4 trillion won this year, was excluded from designation.

Although the basis for designating foreign heads was established, Coupang's Chairman Kim Beom-seok avoided designation as the head. The revised "Enforcement Decree of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act" and "Guidelines on the Criteria and Procedures for Determining the Same Person" were applied for the first time this year. For Coupang and Dunamu, which meet all the exception conditions of the revised enforcement decree, the corporations were designated as the same person, respectively.

The total number of affiliates in all disclosure target conglomerates was counted at 3,318, an increase of 242 (7.9%) from 3,076 last year. The companies with the largest increase in the number of affiliates were SK (21), Hanwha (12), and Hyundai Motor (10), in that order. These companies significantly increased the number of affiliates by establishing new corporations and acquiring shares to enter new businesses.

The total assets of disclosure target conglomerates increased by 241.4 trillion won (8.5%) to 3,074.3 trillion won from 2,832.9 trillion won the previous year. The groups with the largest rise in asset-based rankings were Coupang (45th → 27th), EcoPro (62nd → 47th), and Kyobo Life Insurance (53rd → 39th). The groups with the largest increase in sales were Hyundai Motor (34.7 trillion won), Hanwha (10.8 trillion won), and Coupang (8 trillion won), in that order.

The 'monopoly of wealth' by the top 10 groups was prominent. The top 10 groups accounted for about 60-70% of total sales, total assets, and net income among all disclosure target conglomerates, showing a very high concentration.