List of companies of South Korea

Location of South Korea

South Korea is a sovereign state in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula.^[1] Highly urbanized at 92%,^[2] South Koreans lead a distinctive urban lifestyle; half of them live in high-rises^[3] concentrated in the Seoul Capital Area with 25 million residents^[4] and the world's sixth leading global city^[5] with the fourth largest economy^[6] and seventh most sustainable city in the world.^[7]

South Korea is East Asia's most developed country in the Human Development Index. Driven by a highly educated and skilled workforce, it has the world's eighth highest median household income, the highest in Asia, and its singles in particular earn more than all G7 nations. Globally, it ranks highly in personal safety,^[8] job security, ease of doing business and healthcare quality, with the world's third highest health adjusted life expectancy and fourth most efficient healthcare system.^[9] It is the world's largest spender on R&D per GDP, leading the OECD in graduates in science and engineering^[10] and ranking third in the Youth Wellbeing Index.^[11] Home of Samsung, LG and Hyundai-Kia, South Korea was named the world's most innovative country in the Bloomberg Innovation Index,^[12] ranking first in business R&D intensity and patents filed per GDP. In 2005, it became the world's first country to fully transition to high-speed Internet^[13] and today it has the world's fastest Internet speed and highest smartphone ownership, ranking first in ICT Development, e-Government^[14] and 4G LTE coverage.

For further information on the types of business entities in this country and their abbreviations, see "Business entities in South Korea".

Largest firms

This list shows firms in the Fortune Global 500, which ranks firms by total revenue for 2016.^[15] Only the top five firms (if available) are included as a sample.

Rank	Image	Name	2016 Revenues (USD $M)	Employees	Notes
13		Samsung	$177,440	319,000	Multinational electronics conglomerate, and one of the world's largest information technology firms. Samsung has been on the Global 500 list since it began, steadily climbing to position 13 and holding despite declining revenues in 2016.
84		Hyundai Motor Company	$81,320	129,315	Fourth largest automotive manufacturer, including its Kia Motors subsidiary. The company moved up 15 spots despite a revenue decline of 4.1% in 2016.
172		Korea Electric Power Corporation	$51,805	41,949	Korea's largest electrical utility, majority owned by the Korean state. KEPCO has steadily risen 134 places in the ranking since 2010.
173		POSCO	$51,752	34,327	Multinational steel manufacturing group, the world's fourth largest steelmaker. The company has maintained a steady position on the charts since 2011 after recovering from a drop on the 2010 list.
180		LG Electronics	$49,996	77,000	Electronics and consumer devices engineering and the world's second-largest television manufacturer. The firm rejoined the list in 2011.

Notable firms

This list includes notable companies with primary headquarters located in the country. The industry and sector follow the Industry Classification Benchmark taxonomy. Organizations which have ceased operations are included and noted as defunct.

     Active firms
     State-owned firms
     Defunct firms

• 
  Gangnam Commercial Area.
• 
  Hyundai automotive assembly line.
• 
  Hanjin Spain passing Hamburg.
• 
  Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard.

See also

• Chaebeol
• Economy of South Korea
• KOSDAQ
• KOSPI
• Mobile phone industry in South Korea

References