While the average direct ownership stake of family members in major conglomerates is only 3.5%, their internal ownership rate, including affiliated companies, exceeds 60%. For the first time, the number of companies subject to regulations against self-dealing by family members has surpassed 1,000.
The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) announced these findings on September 3 in its report titled '2026 Ownership Status of Publicly Disclosed Business Groups.' The analysis covered 3,293 companies belonging to 89 business groups with a family head among the 102 groups with assets exceeding 5 trillion won this year.
The internal ownership rate for business groups with a family head was 61.4%, down 1 percentage point from last year's 62.4%. This internal ownership rate refers to the proportion of shares held by family members, relatives, affiliated companies, non-profit organizations, and executives among the total issued shares of domestic affiliates.
Among these, the average direct ownership stake of family members was only 3.5%. In contrast, the average stake held by affiliated companies was 55.5%, indicating a significant gap between the direct ownership of family members and the overall internal ownership of the business group.
The FTC noted that while the internal ownership rate has remained relatively stable, the disparity between the small stakes held by family members and their control over the entire business group continues.
The business group with the highest family ownership stake this year is Iljin Global, which recorded 51.4%. It is followed by Daemyung Chemical at 26.4%, Booyoung at 23.1%, Amorepacific at 17.5%, and DB at 16.8%. The second-generation family ownership stake is highest at Nexon with 65.1%, followed by Korea & Company Group at 19.6%, and both Bando Holdings and Aekyung at 12.1%.
The number of companies subject to self-dealing regulations by family members has also increased. This year, there are 1,047 companies across 88 business groups, accounting for 31.8% of the total 3,293 affiliated companies. This marks an increase of 89 companies from last year, and it is the first time the number of regulated companies has exceeded 1,000.
Companies subject to self-dealing regulations are those where family members hold more than 20% of the shares, as well as subsidiaries where these companies hold more than 50% of the shares. This year, 431 companies have family ownership stakes exceeding 20%, and 616 companies are subsidiaries where these companies hold more than 50% of the shares.
The FTC identified the increase in regulated companies as primarily due to the designation of new business groups. Notably, 40 companies newly designated this year fall under the self-dealing regulations. However, the FTC explained that the increase in regulated companies should not be viewed as having separate social significance but rather as a consequence of the rise in newly designated groups.
On the other hand, the structure of circular shareholding has shown improvement. The number of circular shareholding links among publicly disclosed business groups decreased from 1,435 last year to 233 this year, a reduction of 1,202.
Taekwang and KG have eliminated all existing circular shareholding links. Sajo, which was first designated as a publicly disclosed business group last year, reduced its circular shareholding links from 1,426 to 220. Reports indicate that Sajo plans to further reduce its circular shareholding links to around 140 by the third quarter of this year.
The proportion of treasury shares has also decreased. Among business groups with a family head, 425 affiliates across 87 groups held treasury shares, with an average treasury share proportion of 1.9%, down 0.5 percentage points from the previous year. The groups with the highest treasury share proportions are Mirae Asset at 10.5%, Kyobo Life Insurance at 8.5%, KCC at 7.5%, and Booyoung at 5.9%.
Stock-based compensation for family members has significantly increased. Last year, 15 business groups entered into 585 stock payment agreements with family members, relatives, and executives, marking a 65.7% increase from 353 agreements the previous year.
The increase in stock payment agreements was particularly notable at Samsung. While Samsung Electronics did not enter into any stock payment agreements in 2024, it signed 317 new agreements with executives last year. The FTC explained that Samsung has shifted from cash-based executive incentives to a greater emphasis on stock payment agreements to strengthen responsible management.
There have also been instances of stock payment agreements made with family members. Doosan, Amorepacific, and Kyobo Life Insurance have entered into agreements with family heads, while Hanwha, Woongjin, and Yujin have made agreements with second-generation family members. In total, 19 agreements have been signed involving 11 family members across six groups.
While the FTC does not view stock payment agreements negatively, it plans to monitor whether compensation becomes concentrated among family members and other related parties.
An FTC official stated, "The gap between the direct ownership rate of family members and the internal ownership rate continues, indicating a significant disparity between ownership and control. We will continue to analyze and disclose the ownership and investment structures of large business groups and internal transaction information, and we plan to enforce the law strictly if self-dealing allegations are confirmed."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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