Busan has 31 companies among Korea’s top 1,000; sales top 51 trillion won after three shipping firms relocate

[Financial News] The relocation to Busan of the headquarters of three major shipping companies, including HMM, helped bring the number of Busan-based companies among Korea’s top 1,000 by 2025 revenue to 31, up by three from the previous year. Their combined revenue also surpassed 50 trillion won for the first time.
According to a report released on the 3rd by the Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 31 Busan-based companies were included among Korea’s top 1,000 by 2025 revenue.
Their combined revenue totaled 51.1138 trillion won, up 41.1% (14.8967 trillion won) from the previous year. Busan-based companies’ share of the total revenue of Korea’s top 1,000 also rose by 0.4 percentage points, from 1.2% in 2024 to 1.6% in 2025.
The Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the relocation of major shipping companies’ headquarters to Busan had contributed to the growth in revenue among Busan-based companies.
HMM recorded revenue of 10.7212 trillion won in 2025, ranking 60th nationwide and first among Busan-based companies. Busan thus once again had a company in the national top 100, for the first time in six years, since 2019.
K-LNG (formerly SK Shipping) and H-LINE Shipping Co., Ltd. also posted revenue of 1.5404 trillion won and 1.2855 trillion won, respectively, ranking 354th and 431st nationwide.
The three shipping companies’ combined revenue was 13.5471 trillion won, accounting for 90.9% of the total increase in revenue among Busan-based companies in 2025.
The growth of the 28 established Busan-based companies, excluding the three shipping firms, was also notable. Their revenue totaled 37.5667 trillion won, up 3.7% from 36.2170 trillion won on the same basis the previous year. This exceeded the 3.4% growth rate in total revenue for Korea’s top 1,000 companies.
BNK Financial Group and Bizko newly entered Korea’s top 1,000 companies.
BNK Financial Group’s revenue rose 87.3% from the previous year to 706.2 billion won, driven in part by increased dividend income from its subsidiaries. Its national ranking climbed 538 places, from 1,290th in 2024 to 752nd in 2025.
Bizko, a manufacturing partner and distributor for global sportswear brand ASICS Corporation, recorded revenue of 527.7 billion won, driven by growth in the wellness market, including running and marathons. Revenue increased 34.8% from the previous year, bringing the company to 977th nationwide and into the top 1,000 for the first time.
Growth in the finance and insurance sectors was also pronounced. Five of the 10 companies with the highest revenue growth were in finance and insurance. The improvement in the performance of regional financial companies is thought to have been driven in part by government policies to invigorate capital markets and a buoyant stock market, which increased securities investment returns and trading value.
Revenue rose sharply at regional financial companies, including BNK Financial Group (87.3%), BNK Securities (48.6%) and Korea Exchange (KRX) (20.3%).
By industry, manufacturing accounted for the largest number of Busan-based companies among the top 1,000, with 10 companies (32.3%). Transport and warehousing and finance and insurance had seven companies each, followed by wholesale and retail trade with four, construction with two, and electricity and gas supply with one.
The share of non-manufacturing companies rose to 67.7%, up 7.0 percentage points from 60.7% the previous year. The report said this showed that Busan’s industrial structure was diversifying, led by shipping and finance.
An official from the Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s research team said, “The relocation of major shipping companies’ headquarters to Busan has elevated the scale and standing of regional companies among Korea’s top 1,000, and established regional companies have also posted solid growth.” The official added, “To ensure these results are not a one-off, we need to extend the growth benefits of the shipping and finance industries across the region’s industries and strengthen the foundations for investment and growth among regional companies.”





[email protected] Kwon Byeong-seok Reporter