Big Four Chaebols
The added value created from the four big groups, Samsung, Hyundai Motor, SK, and LG, was 140.2 trillion won (US$134 billion) last year, which accounted for 9.7 percent of GDP. The four big groups are in charge of about 10 percent of the economic growth in Korea.
The percentage of the four groups in the total added value amount of the top 500 companies also increased over 5 percentage points within a year, from 50.7 percent to 55.2 percent. The entire amount of the added value created from the top 500 companies was 254 trillion won (US$243 billion), which is one sixth of GDP (approximately 1.440 quadrillion won, or US$1.3784 trillion). The total amount of added value created from companies other than the four groups decreased by 13.5 percent. Economic polarization has become enhanced.
CEO Score, a corporate performance evaluation company, researched the added value amount of 425 companies that submit their audit reports to the Financial Supervisory Service in Korea by revenue on Sept. 17, and the result turned out to be total 254.16 trillion won (US$244.04 billion). Insurance and securities industries were excluded, as the comparison was complicated due to the change in their settlement months. This is 17.6 percent of GDP based on the exchange rate at the end of 2013.
By group, 19 affiliate companies in Samsung Group among top 500 companies created the most added value of 68.37 trillion won (US$65.73 billion). This was 4.7 percent of GDP. Hyundai Motor Group (18 companies) created the second most added value of 37.64 trillion won (US$36.02 billion), 2.6 percent of GDP. LG Group (14 companies) and SK Group (19 companies) created the third and fourth most added value of 19.35 trillion won (US$18.5 billion) and 14.88 trillion won (US$14.3 billion) respectively. Except these groups, other companies created total added value of 113.9 trillion won (US$109.0 billion), a 13.5 percent decrease from last year.