By Kim Hyun-cheol
Staff Reporter
The turbulent decade since the Asian financial crisis has seen a huge shake-up in the country's rankings of top conglomerates ― with only half of the 30 biggest in 1998 maintaining their status 10 years later.
Fifteen business groups have been cleared off the list in the last decade, Chaebul.com, a Korean conglomerate Web site, said Sunday. The list was based on equity asset levels and excluded state-run firms.
Including Daewoo Group, the third largest in 1998, a total of 12 business groups had disappeared due to liquidation or restructuring. Daewoo went bankrupt in 1999, failing to cut back debts of some 80 billion won ($60.2 million).
Hansol, Halla and Daesang failed to stay in the top 30 after going through huge restructuring.
A band of "satellite groups," derived from existing conglomerates, emerged to fill the vacant spots. Three ― Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, Hyundai Heavy Industries and GS ― joined the list of top 10 chaebol during the 10-year period.
Three more Hyundai affiliates, as well as LS, an LG-derived business group, emerged among the 30 biggest conglomerates, while two former Samsung affiliates, Shinsegae and CJ, also made the list.
SK and Lotte made the biggest strides among the companies that maintained their status over the decade. SK was up two notches to third, while Lotte jumped from 11th to fifth. Also remarkable among the new rankings was STX, formerly known as Ssangyong Heavy Industries, ranking in 12th place.
Samsung remains the unrivaled leader among local conglomerates since it snatched the position from Hyundai ― in first place in 1998 ― which was split in the wake of founder Chung Ju-yung's death in 2001. Its overall equity assets totaled 144 trillion won, compared to those of trailing Hyundai-Kia (74 trillion won) and SK (72 trillion won).
The number of affiliates rose 8.1 percent to 869 firms, with total assets soaring 74 percent to 925.3 trillion won. In the same period, their sales were tallied at 680.6 trillion won, showing 54.2 percent growth.
On another positive note, the debt ratio averaged 153.5 percent last year, a significant improvement from 603.6 percent 10 years earlier. However, overall debt rose 22.8 percent to 560.2 trillion won.
More changes are expected to the current rankings, according to Chaebul.com.
"Circumstances are quite similar to the late 1990s. A new era of restructuring is expected in (amid) the new global economic crisis, leading to a possible whirlpool in the business community," a Chaebol.com spokesman said.