Among the business groups subject to disclosure (disclosure groups), companies with high equity held by second-generation heads posted notably higher ratios of internal transactions, it was found. Internal transactions refer to sales of goods and services to affiliates within the same business group. The Fair Trade Commission says internal transactions themselves are not illegal, but sees this pattern as a move by heads to pave the way to transfer management control to their children.
According to the "2025 disclosure group internal transactions status" the Fair Trade Commission released on the 3rd, the internal transaction ratio for companies where second-generation heads hold at least 20% equity is 12.1%. That is similar to the 12.3% internal transaction ratio among domestic affiliates of 2,703 companies belonging to 92 disclosure groups analyzed.
However, when second-generation heads hold at least 30% equity, the internal transaction ratio rises to 20.8%. When second-generation heads hold at least 50% equity, the internal transaction ratio is 25.2%. When it is 100%, it falls to 20.7%, but that is still higher than the average (12.3%).
On this, Eum Jandi, head of the business group management division at the Fair Trade Commission, said, "Circumstances will differ by group, but it is presumed to be related to succession," adding, "This is not to say it is illegal, but we can clearly say that such a trend is appearing."
In addition, over the past 10 years, the internal transaction ratio for the top 10 groups with heads, including Samsung and SK, was 13%, a level similar to the overall average (12.3%). However, their internal transaction amount was 193 trillion won, accounting for 68.7% of the total internal transaction amount (281 trillion won) among disclosure groups.
The groups with the largest increase in internal transaction ratios over the past 10 years were HD Hyundai (10.3→17.3%) and Hanwha (4.3→8.9%). By amount, internal transactions were active at SK Energy (24.4 trillion won) and Hyundai Mobis (22.3 trillion won).
The number of groups that signed trademark license agreements and pay fees rose from 46 to 72 in the past five years. At LG, SK, Hanwha, CJ, POSCO, Lotte, and GS, licensing fees of at least 100 billion won were incurred every year. In particular, at CJ, 54.8% of total sales were trademark royalties.
Among 104 groups with heads that receive trademark royalties, 58 have at least 20% equity held by the head's family. The royalties they received totaled 1.6112 trillion won, or 81.8% of the total for all groups with heads (1.9698 trillion won).
The Fair Trade Commission said, "These figures suggest that trademark transactions are internal transactions closely linked to the head's family," adding, "We will disclose key details to the market in detail to induce voluntary improvements in practices by business groups."