Korea's antitrust regulator said Wednesday that it has increased the number of companies on its watch list by 10 that limits mutual investments and loan guarantees.

The Fair Trade Commission said the number of corporate affiliates on the list stood at 1,841 that belonged to 63 private business groups and large public companies as of Tuesday, compared with 1,831 in the previous month.

Thirteen companies were added to the list as they were newly created or conglomerates bought stakes in other companies. In addition, three firms were removed due to activities such as mergers and stake sales, the watchdog noted.

Under Korea's fair trade law, affiliates of large business groups with assets of 5 trillion won ($4.43 billion) or more are restricted from making equity investments in or offering loan guarantees to one another.

The rule is aimed at preventing the distortion of conglomerate governance structures. (Yonhap)