Chaebol played a key role in developing new industries, markets, and export production, helping make South Korea one of the Four Asian Tigers. Although South Korea's major industrial programs did not begin until the early 1960s, the origins of the country's entrepreneurial elite were found in the political economy of the 1950s. Very few Koreans had owned or managed larger corporations during the Japanese colonial period. After the departure of the Japanese in 1945, some Korean businessmen obtained the assets of some of the Japanese firms, a number of which grew into the chaebol of the 1990s. The companies, as well
Chaebol than riskier debt. This is because the new transparency laws and restructuring boosted investor confidence from abroad. Laws were passed to limit the expansion of chaebol: Formally, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC; 공정거래위원회;公正去來委員會) announces a limited chaebol list every year as size of industrial assets (not including financial companies). Chaebol with limited assurance (상호출자제한기업집단;相互出資制限企業集團) The following charts list chaebol in order by different categories. Chaebol A chaebol (; ) is a large industrial conglomerate that is run and controlled by an owner or family in South Korea. A chaebol often consists of a large number of diversified affiliates, controlled