Mergers and acquisitions in South Korea jumped on-year in the first half as conglomerates consolidated affiliates to streamline their operations, the antitrust watchdog said Thursday.

The value of reported M&As reached 127.7 trillion won ($107.2 billion) in the January-June period, up from 88.1 trillion won the year before, the Fair Trade Commission said in a report. The number of merger cases also surged to 313 from 286 over the cited period.

"There was a rush of M&As and intra-group consolidations involving affiliates of large business groups like SK, Samsung and Hyundai Motor," the FTC said.

The merger between Cheil Industries Inc. and Samsung C&T Corporation, as well as those between Hyundai Steel and Hyundai Hysco Co. are some of the high-profile intra-group mergers that were arranged in the first half.

The FTC said that many business groups sought to shore up the competitiveness of core business fields in the face of stiff competition. "Due to mounting economic uncertainties, companies generally refrained from acquiring businesses to expand their overall size."

Of the total, 249 cases worth 39.4 trillion won involved domestic companies while those related to overseas firms reached 64 cases worth 88.3 trillion won.

For foreign companies, 12.3 percent more merger deals were reported, with the value of such transactions rising 16.6 percent on-year. In the first half of 2014, M&As involving foreign companies stood at 57 cases valued at 75.7 trillion won.

Most foreign firm merger deals involve tie-ups between overseas businesses that must still be reported to the FTC.

Among the country's largest conglomerates with assets exceeding 5 trillion won, the number of M&As reached 67 cases worth 24.1 trillion won, according to the report. (Yonhap)