[25 Years of Turmoil in the Business World] Asset Concentration in Top 10 Groups Has Significantly Decreased

Corporate Group Assets Increased 8 Times Since IMF
Top 10 Groups' Share Decreased by 15.5 Percentage Points

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] The map of South Korea's business world is changing. While the manufacturing-centered "Daema (Great Horse)" groups have either stagnated or declined, giants excelling in new industries such as semiconductors and ICT are emerging one after another, causing a tectonic shift.

Entrepreneurs who boldly challenge new industries and succeed in IPOs and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are also joining the large corporate ecosystem, leading the change. Mid-sized groups growing through M&A have also risen as strong players rewriting the business landscape.

Since the introduction of the large business group system in 1986, and from 1997 when statistics began to be recorded until 2022, the past 25 years have truly felt like "the rankings change overnight."

After the 1997 International Monetary Fund (IMF) foreign exchange crisis, groups such as Daewoo, Ssangyong, and Hanjin disappeared from the top 10 groups. This stark reality reflects that even dominant groups can vanish at any time. On the other hand, IT and digital giants have rapidly risen. Naver, Kakao, and Dunamu, the operator of the virtual asset exchange Upbit, are representative examples.

The concentration of assets among the top 10 groups has also significantly decreased. The total assets of all large business groups grew nearly eightfold over 25 years, from 327.4 trillion won in 1997 to 2,617.7 trillion won this year.

However, the asset share of the top 10 groups dropped by 15.5 percentage points, from 81.2% to 65.7%, passing the "half-fifty" mark. This is attributed to the emergence and growth of new groups and reflects the dynamism of our economy.

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