기업집단 소유지배구조 측정 방식 재검토: 주식소유 현황 공시제도 개선 방안

This study proposes and calculates a correct measure of cash flow rights of the controlling family at the business group level. Ownership of the controlling families formally reported by the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) does not subtract off inter-corporate holdings from the denominator, which underestimates the true capital contribution of the family. On the other hand, simply taking averages of firm-level cash flow rights double counts inter-corporate holdings in the numerator, overestimating the family’s true cash flow rights at the group level. Based on the report by the KFTC in May 2021, ownership of the controlling family in large business groups is only 3.5% on average, but the average cash flow rights held by the family in each member firm amounts up to 32.1%. Once we exclude the inter-corporate holdings either from the denominator of the KFTC formula or from the numerator of the cash flow rights formula, average capital contributed to the whole business group by the family is 20.2% of the total paid in capital. Once we further correct for treasury shares by excluding them, the corresponding number is 21.5%, which is lower than the average firm-level cash flow rights, but much higher than the numbers reported by the KFTC. This suggests that disclosing stock ownership in large business groups based on the current formula calls for a significant change.