Korea’s 10 Largest Business Groups Lose 1,100 Trillion Won in Market Value

The combined market capitalization of South Korea’s 10 largest business groups has fallen by about 1,101 trillion won ($766 billion) this month, reflecting a sharp correction in the country’s equity market and heavy losses among major semiconductor and industrial stocks.

The groups’ total market value stood at 3,371.4 trillion won as of October 23, down from 4,472.5 trillion won at the end of September, according to figures compiled from the Korea Exchange and financial data provider FnGuide. All 10 groups recorded declines as the benchmark KOSPI lost 18.83 percent during the month.

SK Group suffered the steepest contraction, with its listed companies’ combined value falling 30.1 percent to 1,093 trillion won from roughly 1,563 trillion won. The decline was led by SK hynix and SK Square as investors reassessed the profitability and durability of spending tied to artificial intelligence. SK hynix lost 28.1 percent of its market value during the period, while SK Square fell 32 percent. Their market-capitalization declines amounted to 365 trillion won and 48 trillion won, respectively.

HD Hyundai posted the second-largest proportional loss among the groups, dropping 25.6 percent to 95 trillion won. Five of its eight listed affiliates are connected to shipbuilding, leaving the group exposed as concerns that the industry had passed its cyclical peak weighed on the sector. HD Hyundai and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries each lost about 30 percent or more of their market value.

Samsung Group’s market capitalization declined 24.3 percent to 1,636 trillion won from about 2,161 trillion won. Samsung Electronics accounted for much of that reduction, falling 19.6 percent to approximately 1,260 trillion won. Hanwha Group declined 19.3 percent to 97 trillion won as weakness spread across defense and shipbuilding names, including Hanwha Aerospace, Hanwha Ocean and Hanwha Engine.

Some groups proved more resilient. LG Group’s combined value fell 5.3 percent to 180 trillion won, helped by a 7.3 percent rise in LG Energy Solution amid expectations for stronger energy-storage demand from US artificial-intelligence data centers. POSCO Group fell 6.4 percent to 505 trillion won. Hyundai Motor Group declined 15 percent, GS Group 13 percent and Shinsegae Group 12 percent, while Lotte Group posted the smallest drop among the 10 at 4.3 percent.

The figures show how quickly a broad market retreat can be amplified by Korea’s concentration in large corporate groups and heavyweight technology shares. Losses at a small number of major listed companies accounted for a substantial share of the overall decline, while differing exposure to batteries, chips, shipbuilding and defense produced a wide gap in performance across groups.