The market capitalization of large South Korean companies was hugely affected by the pandemic, with 89 of the nation’s top 100 by market value changing their rankings, according to latest data Tuesday.

Local corporate tracker Korea CXO Institute surveyed changes in the rankings of the top 100 companies in market capitalization between Jan. 2 and May 22.

According to the survey, the market cap of the top 100 companies in Korea stood at 1,082 trillion won ($876 billion) on May 22, an 8.5 percent fall from 1,182 trillion won on Jan. 2 before the full-fledged outbreak of COVID-19.

During the period, 89 companies changed their rankings and eight were pushed out of the top 100 – they include KCC, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, Korean Air, Hanmi Science, Cheil Worldwide, GS Engineering & Construction, Pan Ocean and BNK Financial Group.

On the contrary, some companies have newly entered the list. Among them, pharmaceutical company Seegene made the biggest stride, with its ranking jumping 151 places from 220 to 69.

Seegene saw the largest increase in market value compared to the beginning of the year. Its market cap, which stood at 811.9 billion won at the beginning of the year, has increased by more than 254 percent to 2.8 trillion won.

The situation was similar for biotech firm Alteogen, with its ranking rising from 195 to 72.

Celltrion Pharm, Hite Jinro, Iljin Materials, Studio Dragon, Ecopro BM and Ottogi also newly joined the top 100 business club.

Alteogen and Celltrion Pharm saw their market capitalization increase by more than 100 percent during the period. Ecopro BM, Celltrion Healthcare and Kakao saw their market value rise by more than 50 percent.

Samsung SDI, LG Household & Health Care and Kakao were newly listed as members of the top 10 club in market value.

Samsung Electronics and SK hynix have been maintaining their No. 1 and No. 2 positions in the domestic market since early this year. However, their market capitalization fell by 11.7 percent and 14.1 percent, respectively, on May 22, compared to earlier this year.

Samsung Electronics’ market capitalization has shrunk more than 38 trillion won from 329 trillion won to 291 trillion won. SK hynix’s market cap decreased by 10 trillion won from 68 trillion won to 59 trillion won recently. 

By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)