Lotte Group has been reported to be the sloppiest in disclosures among the country's major conglomerates ― it was often late in disclosing important changes in management, and sometimes even omitted them.
The Fair Trade Commission announced Tuesday that it examined 424 companies under 58 conglomerates on whether they have fulfilled their obligations in corporate disclosure. Each year, about a quarter of the 1,653 businesses under the conglomerates are subject to the FTC probe.
The regulator levied 631 million won in fines on 201 of the companies for 475 irregularities.
The most common was the omission of important changes in disclosures, with the number totaling 299. There were also 27 cases of false disclosure, and 19 delayed ones. Most of the omitted, false or delayed disclosures were about the management of the board or the financial condition of the company.
Among the conglomerates examined, Lotte turned out to be the worst, with 42 violations. It was followed by Daesung Group with 35 and SK Group with 31.
The regulator, however, explained that the companies are better at abiding by the disclosure law than in the past. The ratio of companies that have breached disclosure regulations decreased by 15.5 percentage points, according to the commission.
"We will strengthen efforts to enhance the effectiveness of the disclosure system, including education and continuous checkups," the FTC spokesman said.