Chaebol owners to disclose earnings starting 2018

Companies will be obliged to disclose the earnings of owners and their family members starting in 2018 as part of the government's efforts to boost market transparency, the financial regulator said Thursday.

It is in accordance with the revision of the country's capital market law by the National Assembly earlier in the day, according to the Financial Services Commission (FSC).

According to the law, all companies shall officially make known the earnings of their top five wage earners, regardless of whether or not they are registered directors.

The disclosure must be listed at least twice a year, with the rule to be applied to executives who earn more than 500 million won ($409,098) per year, according to the FSC.

Under current law, updated in 2013, it is only mandatory for listed directors who earn more than 500 million won a year to make their salaries public, which caused many owners of the country's business conglomerates, or chaebol, to give up their registered director status to hide their earnings.

Since the law took effect, family members at 11 conglomerates have given up their board director memberships, according to the corporate tracker. (Yonhap)