Seoul: SK Group retained the No. 1 position over Samsung Group in annual operating profit last year, driven by the strong performance of its chipmaking affiliate, SK hynix Inc., amid an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven semiconductor supercycle, industry data showed Wednesday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, SK Group reported 50.19 trillion won (US$32.2 billion) in operating profit in 2025, topping the country's corporate earnings rankings for the second consecutive year, based on data from market tracker Korea CXO Institute. The figure was about 27 percent higher than Samsung Group's 36.62 trillion won, highlighting the substantial gap between the two conglomerates. This gap widened after SK Group edged out Samsung Group by just 0.4 percent in operating profit in 2024.

Over the period, SK hynix's operating profit more than doubled from 21.33 trillion won to 44.01 trillion won, underscoring the significant impact of the semiconductor supercycle on SK Group's financial performance. Despite this, Samsung Group maintained its lead in sales, net profit, and employment last year. Samsung Group posted combined sales of 432.23 trillion won, representing 18 percent of the total sales generated by the 102 conglomerates covered by the Korea CXO Institute's data. Its net profit amounted to 49.02 trillion won, while its workforce stood at 283,000.

Hyundai Motor Group ranked second in sales and employment, with 296.71 trillion won in sales and 201,000 employees. It placed third in operating profit and net profit, at 15.78 trillion won and 15.3 trillion won, respectively.