— Total subcontract payments made by business groups subject to disclosure in H2 2025 amounted to KRW 89.1 trillion —
July 14, 2026
The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC, Chairperson Biung-hi Ju) conducted a compliance inspection of the disclosure of 2025 H2 subcontract payment terms. The inspection found that the total subcontract payments made by business groups subject to disclosure in H2 2025 amounted to KRW 89.1 trillion. The average cash payment ratio was 84.71%, and the average cash-equivalent payment ratio was 98.35%. The ratio of subcontract payments made within 30 days was 86.41%.
Business groups subject to disclosure under the Fair Trade Act, acting as prime contractors in subcontracting transactions, are required under Article 13- of the Act on Fair Transactions in Subcontracting to disclose, on a semiannual basis via the Data Analysis, Retrieval and Transfer System (DART), information on subcontract payment amounts by payment method and by payment period, as well as information on dispute mediation bodies for subcontract payments.
[ Overview of the Subcontract Payment Terms Disclosure System ]
[Disclosing entities] Business groups subject to disclosure that had subcontracting transactions during the relevant half-year period
[Disclosure items] ① Payment amounts by payment method (cash, check, promissory notes, etc.), ② payment amounts by payment period, ③ dispute mediation bodies
[Transactions covered] Subcontract-payment-related transactions paid from the start to the end of the immediately preceding half-year period, applicable only to subcontracts concluded on or after the system's effective date (January 12, 2023)
For subcontracting transactions that occurred in H2 2025, 1,417 companies belonging to 92 corporate groups disclosed their H2 2025 subcontract payment terms.
<Status of Subcontract Payment Terms Disclosures>
The total subcontract payment amount disclosed by business groups subject to disclosure in H2 2025 was KRW 89.1 trillion. The corporate groups with the largest subcontract payment amounts were Hyundai Motor Group (KRW 11.20 trillion), Samsung (KRW 8.95 trillion), HD Hyundai (KRW 5.58 trillion), Hanwha (KRW 5.37 trillion), and LG (KRW 4.77 trillion), in that order.
In H2 2025, the average cash payment ratio among subject prime contractors was 84.71%, and the average cash-equivalent payment ratio was 98.35%. Twenty-ine groups — including GM Korea, Hanjin, BS, and Naver — representing roughly 31% of all corporate groups, were found to have a 100% cash payment ratio. On the other hand, the groups with the lowest cash payment ratios were KG (24.51%), Hite Jinro (26.37%), LS (34.36%), and Doosan (39.59%).
Regarding payment periods, 66.82% of all disclosed subcontract payments were made within 15 days, and 86.41% were made within 30 days. This indicates that most payments are made within 30 days — less than half of the statutory payment period of 60 days. In particular, eight groups had a ratio of payments made within 10 days exceeding 70%: Eukor Car Carriers (100%), Paradise (100%), LG (80.96%), HDC (78.78%), GS (73.93%), Hoban Construction (71.98%), Samsung (71.11%), and DN (70.40%).
The ratio of payments made after exceeding 60 days was 0.16% (KRW 138.9 billion). Meanwhile, the groups with the highest ratios of payments exceeding 60 days were E-and (14.02%), Daebang Construction (10.11%), SM (5.4%), Kyobo Life Insurance (2.94%), and KG (2.51%).
Under Article 13, Paragraph 1 of the Subcontracting Act, prime contractors must pay subcontract payments within 60 days of receiving the delivered goods/services, and must pay delinquency interest, etc., if payment exceeds 60 days.
The proportion of subject prime contractors operating a dispute mediation body has been on an increasing trend, but still only 144 companies (10.2%) across 43 groups had established and were operating a subcontract-payment dispute mediation body.
Since the system's introduction, the cash payment ratio has consistently remained in the 84–86% range, and the cash-equivalent payment ratio has remained high, in the 97–98% range.
Meanwhile, the ratios of payments made within 30 days and within 60 days both declined slightly, while the rate of dispute mediation body operation increased somewhat.
<Key Findings of the Disclosure Inspection>
Through this inspection, the Commission imposed administrative fines on three companies—Voithru, Studio One Pick (both Kakao), and OnePall (SK)—for failing to disclose their subcontract payment information.
In addition, 31 companies were found to have simple omissions or errors in their disclosed content; these companies were instructed to file corrected disclosures and were advised to ensure accurate disclosures going forward.
The Subcontract Payment Terms Disclosure System was introduced to strengthen the bargaining power of subcontractors and to establish a fair and transparent order in subcontracting transactions. Through this system, small and medium-sized enterprises can easily identify and compare the soundness of payment practices across different prime contractors and use this information in negotiations, while prime contractors also gain an incentive to improve their payment terms and practices in order to enhance their credibility.
The Commission plans to conduct further inspections — focusing on companies belonging to presumptively-designated corporate groups found to have made a high volume of subcontract payments exceeding the 60-day limit — to verify whether subcontract payments and related delinquency interest have been properly paid, and will continue to closely monitor unfair practices related to subcontract payments.