Anchor: The list of the nation’s top 500 companies in terms of sales saw a major shift last year in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Shipbuilding, steel and petrochemical companies saw their rankings slip while IT and service firms enjoyed higher rankings. 
Our Bae Joo-yon has more. 

Report: Statistics released by business data provider CEO Score on Wednesday showed that 44 companies for the first time made the list of the nation’s top 500 companies in terms of sales posted last year. 

Many of the new players included distribution platform businesses, including Woowa Brothers Corporation, operator of the nation’s top food delivery app Baedal Minjok, as well as online grocery service Market Kurly. 

Samsung Electronics retained its number one spot with sales standing at nearly 237 trillion won last year. Hyundai Motor Company also remained at number two on the list. LG Electronics saw its ranking climb a notch to third place thanks to a rise in demand for home appliances amid the pandemic. 

Semiconductor company SK hynix saw its ranking climb five notches to 12th place, while POSCO’s ranking slipped from third to sixth following a slump in the iron and steel industries. 

In terms of industry type, distribution firms accounted for the largest portion of top companies at 51 followed by automobiles and auto parts, construction, petrochemicals, food and beverages, IT, insurance, services, public companies, shipbuilding and machinery, and securities. 

Total sales of the top 500 companies amounted to nearly two-thousand-887 trillion won last year, down point-two percent from the previous year. 

Their operating profit, on the other hand, surged five-point-four percent to some 172 trillion won while net profit also grew nearly 12 percent to some 111 trillion won. 
Bae Joo-yon, KBS World Radio News.