As the stock market continues to hit record highs day after day, the market capitalization of Korea's top 30 groups has more than doubled in eight months.
According to Korea CXO Institute, a corporate analysis firm, the market capitalization of the top 30 groups was 1,680 trillion won on June 4 last year, the inauguration day of President Lee Jae-myung, and totaled 3,404 trillion won on the 27th of this month. That is an increase of 1,724 trillion won in eight months.
In particular, Samsung Group's market capitalization rose from 592 trillion won to 1,368 trillion won, making it the first domestic company to enter the "1,000 trillion won range." SK Group increased from 238 trillion won to 732 trillion won, recording a growth rate of 206.8%, the highest among the top 30 groups.
Hyundai Motor (149 trillion won→291 trillion won), LG (130 trillion won→184 trillion won), and HD Hyundai (105 trillion won→160 trillion won) also joined the groups with market capitalization above 100 trillion won. Hanwha likewise increased its market cap from 95 trillion won to 150 trillion won, joining the 100 trillion won range.
By growth rate, SK (206.8%) was followed by Samsung (131.0%), Doosan (97.9%), Mirae Asset (95.2%), and Hyundai Motor (95.0%). By increase in amount, Samsung (775 trillion won), SK (493 trillion won), and Hyundai Motor (141 trillion won) ranked at the top.
By contrast, HMM fell behind as its market capitalization decreased by about 18%. SM (-14.7%), DL (-13.2%), Hanjin Logistics (-11.0%), and HDC Holdings (-10.3%) also saw their market caps drop more than 10% over eight months.
By stock, SK Square and SK hynix stood out. SK Square's market capitalization jumped 278%, and SK hynix also surged 267%. Samsung Electronics expanded from 342 trillion won to 944 trillion won, and Samsung SDI rose from 1.1855 trillion won to 3.12268 trillion won.
O Il-seon, head of Korea CXO Institute, said, "Stocks belonging to the top 30 groups account for more than 70% of total market cap among all listed companies," adding, "As the concentration in large-cap stocks deepens, diversifying the market cap structure remains a mid- to long-term task."