Kakao Adds 14 New Affiliates in the Past Three Months

Fair Trade Commission Announces 'Status of Changes in Subsidiaries of Large Business Groups from August to October 2021'

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] Kakao has increased its number of new affiliates by 14 and excluded 6 over the past three months. Despite recent criticisms that platform companies including Kakao are excessively expanding their businesses amid controversies over infringement on local markets, it has been revealed that they are still actively pursuing entry into new industries such as insurance companies.

According to the 'Status of Changes in Subsidiaries of Large Business Groups from August to October 2021' disclosed by the Fair Trade Commission on the 3rd, the number of companies belonging to 71 large business groups reached 2,704 as of the end of October, an increase of 52 from the end of July. 106 companies were incorporated as affiliates through company establishment and equity acquisition, while 54 companies were excluded from the groups due to mergers, equity sales, etc.

The group with the most newly incorporated affiliates was Kakao (14). Kakao added KakaoStyle, KDrive, Melon Company, SonjaSoft, Radish Korea, and others as affiliates. SK increased by 10 companies including Catini, and JoongAng added 8 companies including JTBC Discovery.

The groups with the most excluded companies were Kakao (6), IMM Investment (6), and Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance (6).

Companies established or acquired firms to enter new business fields and strengthen influence in adjacent markets. Kakao established Kakao Pay Insurance Preparation Corporation to officially launch a digital insurance company, and Naver became the largest shareholder of Moonpia, an online web novel supplier, strengthening its position in the web novel sector. Hoban Construction entered the media and press sector by acquiring Electronic Newspaper and five subsidiaries, and changing the name of its affiliate Hoban Housing to Seoul Media Holdings.

Business structure reorganization was also actively carried out. SK spun off SK On (battery division) and SK Earth On (oil development division) from SK Innovation to enhance expertise in battery and oil development fields. Shinsegae absorbed Jeju Soju into Shinsegae L&B to reorganize its liquor business. Kakao reorganized its business sectors by absorbing Melon Company into Kakao Entertainment and Kakao Commerce into Kakao, respectively.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.