chaebol

noun

chae·​bol ˈchā-ˌbōl How to pronounce chaebol (audio)
ˈje-ˌbəl
plural chaebol also chaebols
: a family-controlled industrial conglomerate in South Korea

Examples of chaebol in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Personal connections likewise structured the relations of big chaebols, South Korea’s corporate conglomerates, with their small and medium-sized suppliers, and even individual citizens’ job searches, financial choices, and voting behavior. Foreign Affairs, 7 Jan. 2025 Love Scout also stars Kim Do-hoon as a young chaebol and Kim Yoon-hye as Eun-ho’s interested neighbor. Joan MacDonald, Forbes, 4 Jan. 2025 Notable chaebols include market heavyweights such as Samsung Electronics, LG, SK and Hyundai. Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 12 Dec. 2024 The turmoil around that period, when the won collapsed and thousands of small businesses went under, highlighted for many the cozy relationships between family-run chaebol and politicians. Eleanor Pringle, Fortune Asia, 22 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for chaebol 

Word History

Etymology

Korean chaebŏl, from chae wealth, property + pŏl faction, clan

First Known Use

1972, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of chaebol was in 1972

Dictionary Entries Near chaebol

Cite this Entry

“Chaebol.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chaebol. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.

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