It has been found that large business groups paid 138.9 billion won in subcontract payments past the legal deadline during the second half of last year.
In particular, companies such as E-Land and Daebang Construction were identified as having a notably high ratio of subcontract payments made after the legal deadline.
According to the "Results of the Inspection on Subcontract Payment Terms Disclosure for the Second Half of 2025" announced by the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), 1,417 business entities belonging to 92 large business groups paid a total of 89.1 trillion won in subcontract payments during the second half of last year.
The ratio of subcontract payments made after the 60-day legal payment period was 0.16%, amounting to 138.9 billion won. Among these, E-Land Group had the highest ratio at 14.02%.
This was followed by Daebang Construction at 10.11%, SM Group at 5.4%, Kyobo Life Insurance at 2.94%, and KG Group at 2.51%.
Most business groups paid subcontract fees within 30 days, which is half of the legal period; the ratio of payments made within 30 days in the second half of last year was 86.41%, and the ratio of payments made within 15 days was 66.82%.
The average cash payment ratio for subcontract fees was 84.71%, and the average cash-equivalent payment ratio was 98.35%.
It was found that only 144 business entities across 43 groups, or 10.2% of the total, operate dispute mediation organizations related to subcontract payments.
The FTC imposed a fine of 4 million won each on three business entities that failed to disclose their subcontract payment terms: VoiceRu and Studio One Pick, both affiliates of Kakao, and Willpol, an affiliate of SK.
The FTC plans to closely monitor unfair practices related to subcontract payments, including conducting additional inspections on whether subcontract fees and delay interest have been paid, focusing on companies belonging to large business groups that were found to have high amounts of subcontract payments made beyond the 60-day limit in this disclosure.
(Photo: Provided by Fair Trade Commission, Yonhap News)