This file photo shows an exterior view of the main building of Hybe, the South Korean entertainment giant behind K-pop supergroup BTS, in Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, May 15 (Korea Bizwire) – The antitrust regulator said Wednesday it has decided to add six more business groups to the list of conglomerates subject to tighter supervision, including K-pop powerhouse Hybe.
The number of conglomerates on the watchlist came to 88, which have 3,318 affiliates under their wings combined, compared with last year’s 82 groups with 3,076 affiliates, according to the Fair Trade Commission.
Seven groups were newly added to the list this year, while Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, which has now become Hanwha Ocean, was excluded from the list last year, it added.
Under South Korean law, conglomerates with assets of 5 trillion won (US$3.65 billion) or larger are designated as “large corporations” required to publicly file details on interaffiliate transactions, their ownership structure and key information on nonaffiliates.
Among the seven entities was the agency behind BTS, Hybe, amid the strong performance of its affiliated companies and rising loans.
It was the first time that an entertainment group was added to the list.
Paradise Group, a leading tourism company, and Sono International Co., a hotel and travel company, also joined the list for the first time.
“The increase in the number of companies on this year’s watchlist came as entertainment, leisure and tourism industries, among others, have grown markedly thanks to the rising popularity of Korean culture and recovering consumer sentiment after the COVID-19 pandemic,” the regulator said in a release.
As the rules on the chaebol watchlist designation were revised earlier this month, CEO of e-commerce giant Coupang Kim Bom-suk was excluded from the list, though the company has been on the scrutiny list, as he is a Korean American.
The case has drawn attention amid criticism that the regulation would discriminate against South Korean entrepreneurs.
Meanwhile, affiliates of conglomerates with assets exceeding 10.4 trillion won are restricted from making equity investments in their affiliated companies or offering loan guarantees to each other, and 48 business groups were subject to the regulation for this year.
EcoPro Co., a leading South Korean producer of secondary battery materials, and Kyobo Life Insurance Co. were newly added to the list, while Daewoo Shipbuilding and Hankook and Company Co. were taken off the list.
The 44 groups had a total of 2,213 affiliates under their wings combined, the regulator said.
(Yonhap)
