The number of South Korean business group affiliates subject to restrictions on mutual investments and loan guarantees rose by 12 in December from a month earlier, the antitrust watchdog said Tuesday.

The Fair Trade Commission said the number of firms on its watch list came in at 1,668 as of Tuesday, up from 1,656 on Nov. 1.

A total of 16 companies were added to the list while four were removed. All the companies are owned by the country's 61 largest business groups.

A total of 11 business groups, including Lotte, Hyundai Department Store and Taekwang had more companies on the FTC's updated list, while four groups, including KT and Hankook Tire, had fewer units under their respective wings.

Of those added, nine new companies were set up during the past month, while three others were acquired through stake purchases.

In regards to companies taken off the list, one was merged with another and three were closed outright.

Under South Korea's fair trade law, affiliates of large business groups with assets of 5 trillion won ($4.3 billion) or more are restricted from making equity investments or offering loan guarantees to one another.

These rules are in place to prevent large companies from expanding their areas of business indiscriminately and to make certain they do not expose themselves to risks by overreaching their capabilities. (Yonhap)