The Korea Fair Trade Commission said on the 13th it will impose a penalty surcharge of 9 million won and a corrective order on HL Holdings for allegedly violating restrictions on holding company activities.
Under the Fair Trade Act, general holding companies like HL Holdings must not hold equity in financial or insurance companies. Article 18 of the law bans such conduct to separate industrial and financial capital.
However, HL Holdings converted to a holding company structure on Sept. 2, 2014 while owning a 1.03% equity stake in Korea Business Finance Loan, which engages in financial services. In such cases, all shares in financial firms must be sold within two years, but HL Holdings did not do so and sold the equity only on Aug. 22, 2025.
In response, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) applied alleged Fair Trade Act violations to HL Holdings. However, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) determined the level of sanctions by considering that HL Holdings did not exercise control over Korea Business Finance Loan and sold the equity immediately after recognizing the alleged legal violation.
The Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said, "We will continue to closely monitor to ensure that institutional mechanisms function smoothly to enhance transparency in ownership and governance structures and strengthen management accountability."