‘Chaebol’ marriages shift: South Korea’s young scions marry within business circles, not politics
Recent data shows nearly half of the marriages of younger generations of South Korea’s conglomerate-controlling families are now with heirs of other chaebol families, a departure from the past trend of marrying into the political elite.
Gone is the era of political marriages, when the ultra-rich forged ties with the powerful through matrimony.
Recent data shows nearly half of the marriages of younger generations of South Korea’s conglomerate-controlling families are now with heirs of other chaebol families, a departure from the past trend of marrying into the political elite.
Local corporate tracker CEO Score analysed the marriages of 380 people from 81 chaebol families, and found that 46.5 per cent of the fourth and fifth generations of chaebol families married people from families who control other conglomerates. The figure marked an increase from 34.5 % for weddings of second-generation members.
More members of the conglomerate families were also marrying those without prominent business backgrounds, which went from 29.3 % among the second generation to 37.2 % among fourth and fifth generations.
In contrast, marriages between figures in politics or the government and conglomerate owner families decreased from 24.1 % among the second generation to 6.9 % among the fourth and fifth generations.
By contrast, 24.2 % of chaebol-related marriages before 2000 were to those in the political circles or in the government, but the figure dropped to 7.4 % in the new millennium.
“Marrying politicians or government officials aided the business in the past. But doing so now entails a greater risk of (business) being monitored and regulated,” the report said.
Many business moguls of the past established personal connections with prominent figures in politics or the government, particularly when authoritarian administrations controlled the country until the 1980s.
Chung Mong-joon, a son of Hyundai Group Founder Chung Ju-yung, married former Foreign Minister Kim Dong-jo’s daughter Kim Yeong-myeong in 1979 during the Park Chung-hee administration.
Another notable case would be SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won’s 1988 marriage to Roh Soh-yeong, the daughter of then-President Roh Tae-woo. The couple last month finalised their divorce, and are currently engaged in a high-profile lawsuit over splitting their marital assets.
Yoon Min-sik
The Korea Herald
Asia News Network
