2nd generation of owner families at mid-level conglomerates owns 33.5% of shares

(123rf)

An analysis of 81 conglomerates categorized as "middle market enterprises" showed Wednesday that the second generation of owner families owns a total of 33.5 percent of company shares.

Corporate tracker CEO Score analyzed the shareholding structure of companies with 2 trillion won ($1.44 billion) or more in assets, and found that the combined value of shares held by owner families' second generations came to 13.39 trillion won as of July 15. The second generation in the report refers to the offspring of 81 business moguls who are either current owners or have been owners until recently.

Kim Yeong Jae, the current chairperson of Daeduk Co., Ltd., who took over after his father passed away in 2019, had owned 100 percent of the company's shares as of last year. He bequeathed 2.95 percent of the shares to each of his two daughters last month.

The second generation of the owner families at seven middle market enterprises -- Woomi Co. Ltd., TKG Taekwang Co., Ltd., Nice Information Service, Seoyon Group, KyeRyong Construction Industrial Co., Ltd., Sebang Co., Ltd., and Hwaseung Group -- all had shares exceeding 90 percent, which the report said showed that the takeover of the next generation is complete.

All but 29 of the middle market enterprises saw the second generation's shares increase, with Cosmax Group seeing the most rapid growth, from 14.5 percent in late 2022 to 59.6 percent. This growth is due to CEO Lee Byung-ju passing on his 19.23-percent share of the firm's holding company, Coxmax BTI, to his two sons last year.

According to the Fair Trade Commission, companies with assets of 500 billion or more and under 5 trillion won are categorized as middle market enterprises, distinct from "large business groups" or "chaebol," which are defined as having at least 5 trillion won in assets, and "small and medium-sized enterprises" with under 500 billion won in assets.