Seoul: The number of monopolistic industries in South Korea's mining and manufacturing sector has decreased from 52 to 50, government data revealed on Tuesday. This change marks a slight decline in the number of industries classified as monopolized as of 2023.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) considers an industry monopolistic when a single large company accounts for over 50 percent of total shipments for five consecutive years, or when the top three companies together account for over 75 percent of shipments over the same period. The FTC's biennial analysis found that 50 out of 482 industries were maintaining a monopolistic structure during the 2019-2023 period, slightly down from 52 industries in the 2017-2021 period.

The analysis further revealed that 38 industries, including sectors such as semiconductors, cigarettes, beer, and soju, were classified as monopolistic for five consecutive assessments over a decade. Additionally, the FTC noted that the share of shipments by large conglomerates in the sector reached 51.2 percent in 2022, exceeding the 50 percent mark for the first time since 2013.