The merged firms' combined market capitalization grew nearly 10-fold from the end of 2010 to 42.9 trillion won (US$39.6 billion) as of Nov. 26 this year, the Korea Exchange said.
The largest merger this year took place when Lotte Shopping, a major South Korean retailer, used 23 trillion won in October to absorb its affiliate Lotte Midopa.
Meanwhile, the number of spinoffs fell by 26.3 percent from 19 in 2010 to 14, the bourse operator said. The total volume of spinoffs reached 25.7 trillion won, down 2.9 percent from 26.5 trillion won two years ago.
This year's biggest spinoff occurred when Samsung Electronics separated its liquid-crystal display division.
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