The chaebol have vehemently resisted attempts to curb their power. Lee Seung-chol of the FKI chaebol club argues that the restrictions on large business that the FTC wants to pursue are simply “wrong”.
“Even though big companies dominate the domestic market they don’t dominate international markets. In a global, open economy, market share does not equate to market power,” he says.
But analysts see logic in Mr Kwon’s calls for stricter monitoring. “The resources that the chaebol can deploy are massive compared with their potential competitors,” says Hank Morris, a business consultant in Seoul. “So it makes sense for the government to play referee and be on the look-out for dirty tricks.”