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 their status or being split up.
Out of the 19 chaebol, 11 business groups -- including Daewoo, Ssangyong, Dongah, Kohap -- were dissolved in the wake of the foreign exchange crisis. Eight others such as Halla, Hansol and Kolon fell out of the top 30 list.
In contrast, 11 conglomerates -- Samsung, Hyundai, SK, LG, Lotte, Hanwha, Doosan, Hanjin, Kumho, Daelim and Hyosung -- maintained their ranking.
Hyundai has been split into nine separate conglomerates, with the group itself crashing out of the rankings. Instead Hyundai Motor, Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hyundai Department Store newly made the list.
LG was divided into five business groups with the conglomerate itself, GS Group, and LS Group remaining on the top 30 list.
Samsung Group, whose flagship is the world's top memory chip and smartphone maker Samsung Electronics Co., is the largest conglomerate in South Korea, with its ranking rising one notch over the past 20 years.
Retail Giant Lotte Group has posted the biggest increase in status during the period, with its ranking soaring to fifth from 11th.
Fifteen new entrants onto the top 30 list include steel behemoth POSCO, the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation known as Nonghyup, telecom heavyweight KT and retail giant Shinsegae, according to CEO Score. (Yonhap)
