Samsung Electronics' headquarters in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday. Yonhap
Korea's financial watchdog said Tuesday it has placed 42 highly indebted conglomerates under closer watch for debt reduction efforts, with Samsung Electronics topping the list for the first time in eight years.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), the conglomerates with total borrowings exceeding 2.56 trillion won ($1.7 billion) from local banks were designated as heavily indebted corporate groups this year.
The number of heavily indebted conglomerates marked the highest level since 2014, up from 41 a year earlier.
Samsung Electronics rose to the top spot from third place last year.
