Chaebol 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 by an owner whose power over the group often exceeds legal authority. The term is often used in a context similar to that of the English word "conglomerate". The term was derived from the Japanese. It was first used in English in 1984. There are several dozen large South Korean family-controlled corporate groups that fall under this definition. The chaebol have also played a significant
Chaebol debt and are less vulnerable to similar crises, as was demonstrated in the 2008 crisis. With the growth of the fewer remaining chaebols however, each now occupies a larger portion of the economy. The protectionist policies and preferable government treatment granted the chaebol the ability to exhibit monopolistic behavior. The absence of a market free of intervention meant that "true competition" became a rarity in South Korea. Especially in the era prior to the IMF crisis, the only products available to the Korean people were those made by the chaebol. Therefore, the social fabric of the country lacked an entrepreneurship