All developed countries have big companies that contribute a significant chunk to their economic growth. Rarely, though, is the vast majority of that growth concentrated in just one company, but that's exactly the case in South Korea.
It's widely known that Samsung is the largest company in South Korea and one of the biggest contributors to the country's economic growth. The scale of its contribution becomes evident once you have some perspective, because South Korea will derive nearly half of its economic growth in 2024 from just Samsung alone.
Samsung is responsible for half of South Korea's 2024 economic growth
Bloomberg Economics has reported that Samsung will account for half of the economic growth that South Korea registers in 2024. It remains the country's largest company, accounting for 8% of its manufacturing output and 17% for the total market capitalization of its primary stock index.
The outlet's economist Hyosung Kwon highlights in an analysis that of the 2.2% growth that South Korea's economy is expected to post in 2024, 1.1 percentage points will be based on the annual gross profit of Samsung.
It underscores just how important Samsung is to the country's economy. The company is far from an outlier as South Korea has many other leading organizations that similarly play a big role in growing the economy. From competing semiconductor companies like SK Hynix, multi-nationals like Lotte, and car manufacturers like Hyundai and Kia, South Korea is home to some of the biggest names in business in a diverse range of industries.
Yet, Samsung looms large on the entire economy, and that makes complications for the firm's business particularly challenging for the country's economy, as a slump in Samsung's profits has a much bigger impact on South Korea's GDP and fiscal health as well as employment metrics.
