58 more firms added to antitrust watch list

SEJONG, Nov. 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's antitrust regulator said Tuesday it has added 58 new businesses to the list of companies affiliated with large business groups under tight supervision.

The total number of affiliates on the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) watch list reached 2,887 as of end-October, compared with 2,886 tallied three months earlier. Over the period, 57 companies were removed from the list following a merger, separation and other issues.

SK Group added 11 additional companies under its wing, followed by KG Group and Taeyoung Group, with five and four, respectively, according to the FTC.

Kakao Corp., the operator of South Korea's most popular mobile messenger KakaoTalk, on the other hand, offloaded six affiliates.

Under fair trade law, large business groups with assets of 5 trillion won or more are also required to publicly file details on inter-affiliate transactions, their ownership structure and key information on non-affiliates.

colin@yna.co.kr
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