Scores of children of the owners of nine conglomerates in South Korea have more than 100 billion won ($88.2 million) worth of stocks in related companies, government data showed Thursday, amid the owners preferring the early transfer of assets to their offspring to reduce inheritance tax down the road.

The amount of stocks held by 25 children of the nine chaebol, or family-run conglomerates, reached 103.2 billion won as of the end of September, according to data by the Fair Trade Commission.

The figure translates into an average stock ownership of 4.1 billion won for each child affiliated with chaebol owners.

Seven children affiliated with Doosan Group had 4.3 billion won worth of shares in Doosan subsidiaries.

Five children of the owner family of GS Group held 91.5 billion won of stocks in the companies affiliated with the group.

Three children of LG Group had 4 billion won of stocks, while two of Hyosung Group had 3.2 billion won of stocks.

Several children of Lotte Group and Harim Group also held tens of millions won worth of stocks each, the FTC findings showed. (Yonhap)