What is a chaebol in Korean?

Written by Editorial Team | Last Updated: August 2026

In the Korean language and socioeconomic framework, a chaebol (written in Hangul as 재벌) refers to a massive, family-owned industrial conglomerate in South Korea. The term combines the words chae (wealth or property) and bol (clannish or factional lineage). These conglomerates—such as Samsung, Hyundai, SK, and LG—typically consist of numerous diversified corporate affiliates held together by controlling owner families through complex cross-shareholding networks. Chaebols played an instrumental role in South Korea's rapid post-war economic development known as the Miracle on the Han River, receiving heavy state support, export subsidies, and preferential loans during the mid-20th century. Today, they dominate the domestic economy, influencing employment, technological innovation, and international trade, while occasionally facing public scrutiny regarding corporate governance and market concentration.

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