Top 100 businesses account for 45 pct of national output: report

SEOUL, Nov. 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top 100 businesses accounted for roughly
half of the national output in manufacturing and mining sectors, highlighting the
high degree of economic concentration that exists in the country, a government
report said Sunday.
These companies took up 45.7 percent of total shipments in 2006, up 0.7
percentage point from two years earlier, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said.
The regulatory watchdog said the rise in numbers followed a period of decline
from 1999 to 2001 when South Korea experienced an information technology (IT)
boom led by smaller-sized, startup companies.
"The bursting of the IT venture bubble and resurgence of exports have fueled
economic concentration in these big businesses that are usually engaged in
exports," the FTC said.
It also said industrial concentration was heaviest in business areas invested by
conglomerates with assets in excess of 5 trillion won (US$3.5 billion),
indicating that big companies tended to dominate a specific market.
The FTC said that from 2002 to 2006, 54 industries were controlled by one or a
handful of companies that effectively excluded competition.
Market control defined by the commissions refers to a single company holding a
minimum 50 percent of the market, or three companies holding 75 percent.
The corporate regulator said that because excessive concentration can lead to
unfair trade practices that hurt smaller companies and consumers, there is a need
to keep careful tabs on business activities to ensure health of the free market.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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