By Park Hyong-ki
Staff Reporter
The country's top 10 conglomerates have lost a combined market capitalization of over 47 trillion won over the last three months as the credit crisis has worsened since January.
According to the Korea Exchange, the top 10 chaebol shed 11 percent to 381 trillion won in market cap as of last week, from the end of December 2007.
Samsung group affiliates continued to retain its dominance on the stock market, despite the ongoing investigation over the group's alleged business irregularities. They posted 159 trillion won in market capitalization, down 0.5 percent, making it the lowest decrease.
Of Samsung units, Samsung Techwin shares had the highest increase at 29 percent. Known for producing digital cameras, the company's market cap has reached over 5 trillion won.
Other subsidiaries that contributed to the group's preeminence on soaring stock prices included Samsung Fine Chemicals, Samsung SDI, Samsung Electronics and Samsung Electro-Mechanics.
Following Samsung, LG Group ranked second with a market cap of 62 trillion won, down 0.6 percent, the second lowest decrease.
SK Group shares took the biggest plunge among chaebol, losing 31 percent, or 18 trillion won, to 41 trillion won in market cap since the beginning of this year.
Falling shares of SK Communications, the operator of Cyworld homepages and Nate instant messaging services, added fuel to the group's heavy losses. The IT contents unit shed over 53 percent, the biggest loss among chaebol subsidiaries. Other units that added downward pressure on the group's value were SK Energy and SK Chemical.
Hanwha Group also saw its market cap fall sharply by over 30 percent, as it is still trying to refurbish its image following a vendetta by its chairman, Kim Seung-youn, against bar workers last year.
A heavy beating at the group's financial units ― Hanwha Securities and Hanwha Non-Life Insurance ― and Hanwha shares shrunk the group companies' market cap to 6 trillion won.
GS, Lotte and Hyundai Heavy Industries also saw their market cap plunge on credit woes.
The top 10 chaebol's market cap accounted for 41 percent of the KOSPI and Kosdaq markets, up 1 percent.
phk@koreatimes.co.kr