conglomerate

June 3 (Asia Today) — Harim Group’s domestic transactions among affiliates exceeded 1.4 trillion won, or about $914 million, last year, raising concerns that some unlisted units remain heavily dependent on business from within the group.

An analysis of Financial Supervisory Service filings and affiliate transaction data showed Harim Group’s domestic internal transactions totaled 1.44 trillion won, or about $938 million, in 2025.

That accounted for about 11.5% of the group’s total revenue of 12.41 trillion won, or about $8.11 billion.

Harim Group has a vertically integrated business structure spanning feed production, livestock, food processing, distribution and logistics. The structure has drawn attention because several unlisted affiliates reported high levels of sales from transactions with other group companies.

Sunjin Hanmaeul, an agricultural company involved in pig farming, generated 229.2 billion won, or about $150 million, of its 256.6 billion won, or about $168 million, in total revenue last year through transactions with affiliates including Harim Holdings and Sunjin. That means 89.3% of its sales came from internal group transactions. Sunjin Hanmaeul is a sub-subsidiary of Harim Holdings.

Korea Thumb Vet, an animal pharmaceutical affiliate, also generated 94.8 billion won, or about $62 million, of its 130.1 billion won, or about $85 million, in total revenue from affiliate transactions. The company is also a sub-subsidiary of Harim Holdings.

Charm Trading, a Harim Holdings subsidiary responsible for grain procurement and trading, posted 323.9 billion won, or about $212 million, in internal transactions out of 534.5 billion won, or about $349 million, in total revenue last year. That was the largest amount among the group’s affiliate transactions.

Sunjin, a core affiliate in the feed and processed meat businesses, recorded 118.138 billion won, or about $77 million, in sales through affiliate transactions. Sunjin also owns an 89.4% stake in Sunjin Hanmaeul, whose internal transaction dependence reached 89.3%.

Other unlisted affiliates also showed high dependence on internal transactions. Sunjin Ham, a processed meat manufacturer, posted an internal transaction ratio of 99.9%. Farmsco Bio Inti, a livestock production affiliate, recorded 85.8%, while ship management company POS SM reported 85.4% and manufacturing and services affiliate Donglim posted 80.2%.

Harim Group was sanctioned by the Fair Trade Commission in 2021 over allegations that affiliates steered business to Orpum, a private company wholly owned by Kim Jun-young, the eldest son of Harim Chairman Kim Hong-kuk and an assistant managing director at Pan Ocean.

At the time, the commission said affiliate support provided unfair economic benefits to the owner family and imposed corrective orders and fines. Harim challenged the decision and the case is currently in administrative litigation.

The continued transaction structure involving major affiliates such as Charm Trading, Sunjin Hanmaeul and Korea Thumb Vet has drawn attention because it appears to have changed little since the commission’s sanctions.

Harim Group’s succession structure is widely seen as centered on Kim Jun-young. Through Orpum and Korea Investment, Kim has secured influence within the ownership structure of Harim Holdings, and key affiliates are also included under that structure.

Some level of internal transactions may be inevitable in a vertically integrated industry. But critics say it is a separate issue when some unlisted affiliates continue to depend on internal group transactions for 60% to nearly 100% of their revenue, especially as regulators strengthen oversight of tunneling and unfair support involving owner families.

The Fair Trade Commission says it does not determine illegality based only on the share of internal transactions.

“Internal transactions become a problem when illegal conduct such as unfair business steering or private benefit-taking is involved,” a commission official said. “If unfair support or private benefit-taking is found, the transaction can be subject to sanctions under relevant laws.”

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260604010001065

May 22 (UPI) — Federal immigration officials have arrested the sister of a sanctioned Cuban executive on the grounds that her presence in the United States poses a threat to the nation and undermines U.S. foreign policy interests.

Homeland Security Investigations agents arrested Adys Lastres Morera in Miami on Thursday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement said.

Little information about the arrest was made public. ICE published a photo showing the back of a woman in handcuffs being detained by immigration officers.

The arrest came as Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced in a statement that he had terminated Morera’s lawful permanent resident status under a provision of thee Immigration and Nationality Act that makes non-citizens deportable if the secretary of state believes their presence or activities in the United States “would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences.”

ICE said her status had been terminated on Wednesday, paving the way for her arrest.

“Allowing Lastres Morera to remain in the country would send a signal that Cuba regime-affiliated networks could continue to access the U.S.’s financial, education and social institutions — but that is not the case,” acting HSI Executive Associate Director John Condon said in a statement.

Adys Lastres Morera is the sister of Ania Guillermina Lastres Morera, the executive president of the Cuban military-controlled financial conglomerate GAESA.

The State Department sanctioned GAESA and Ania Guillermina Lastres Morera earlier this month on accusations of diverting resources from the Cuban people to “fuel the lavish lifestyles of Castro family members and other regime elites and to finance overseas influence operations as part of Cuba’s long-standing ambition of a global communist revolution,” Rubio said Thursday.

According to ICE, Adys Lastres Morera was admitted to the United States as a lawful permanent resident on Jan. 13, 2023.

“For far too long, the family members of terrorist organizations, repressive anti-American regimes and other bad actors who would threaten the national security of the United States have been given a free pass to enjoy the privileges of living in the United States,” Rubio said.

“No longer. Under President [Donald] Trump, we are removing from our country the family members of [Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] terrorists and Cuban regime elites.”

The arrest comes amid mounting tensions in the Caribbean.

A day earlier, U.S. federal prosecutors charged former Cuban President Raul Castro on allegations of authorizing the 1996 shootdown of an aircraft operated by the Cuban American exile organization Brothers to the Rescue.

Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has accused the Trump administration of using the Castro indictment as a pretext to escalate tensions and potentially justify another military operation in the Caribbean, similar to the January U.S. strike that abducted Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolas Maduro, and brought him to the United States to face narco-terrorism charges.