South Korean Cultural Ecology - 1905 to 1990
Part 2: "Change to the Industrial Society" - Page 10

D. Creation of Chaebols

Korea's industrial complex is controlled by 30 chaebols that constitute almost all of Korea's industrial might. Chaebol is a Korean word that means "A group with a lot of money." These chaebols are family owned closely held private companies with strong ties to the government. Being privately owned they do not have to bow to a board of directors. The government fed the chaebols with huge low-interest loans and a monopoly on industry and exporting.

The big five of the chaebols are Samsung, Hyundai, Lucky-Goldstar, Daewoo, and Sangyong. The first four account for 60% of Korea's GNP. As an example of the extent these companies permeate the Korean economy, look at the corporate structure of Lucky-Goldstar. The President and CEO of one of the Lucky-Goldstar's companies is a Linfield Graduate and I wrote to him and he sent me some material about Lucky-Goldstar. He put me on the mailing list of their corporate magazine. This conglomerate consists of some 35 companies and foundations. This does not include the companies outside of Korea.