Recently, it has been reported that the number of companies affiliated with large corporations has decreased by 12 over the past three months. While gaming and platform corporations actively incorporated new subsidiaries, some groups excluded multiple affiliates for management efficiency and governance restructuring.
According to the Fair Trade Commission on the 25th, the number of companies affiliated with 92 publicly listed corporations with assets of over 5 trillion won decreased from 3,301 on May 1 to 3,289 on August 1, a reduction of 12. During the same period, 52 groups experienced changes in their affiliated companies.
During the period from May to July, 61 companies were newly included in 34 groups. There were 25 new establishments, 4 partitioning, and 14 equity acquisitions.
The largest incorporation was by KRAFTON, which added 10 companies to its affiliates, including the advertising technology and game development company Neptune. Naver also newly included 4 companies, such as the real estate platform OURHOME. Hanwha, TAE KWANG CORPORATION, and Sonoh International each added 3 companies.
LG incorporated the AI-based robotics developer Bear Robotics Korea into its affiliates to strengthen its competitiveness in the robotics business, while Hanwha acquired equity in the food distribution and catering company OURHOME, considering the synergy with its distribution and restaurant business. Sonoh International also added 3 new affiliates, including T'way Air.
During the same period, 73 companies were removed from the affiliates of 36 groups. The reasons included absorption mergers (13), equity sales (11), and liquidation closures (19).
The group that reorganized the most affiliates was Daegwang, which excluded 20 executive-controlled companies, including Myungseong Industry. Yeongwon removed 5 executive and family-controlled companies, while SK excluded 4 companies as part of efficiency measures related to semiconductor inspections.
To secure competitiveness in the LNG business, POSCO INTERNATIONAL absorbed its subsidiary NHA. Kakao excluded the webtoon production company Next Level Studio and Naver excluded the game development company Studio Polrip by selling their equity.
This year, the newly designated corporation Bithumb excluded the family-controlled company Matta from its affiliates, and Sonoh International was recognized for independent family management for three companies, including DM Media.