[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s top 10 conglomerates spent 31.3 trillion won (US$28.3 billion) on entertainment expenses from 2012 to 2015, according to research from Herald Business and The Investor.

The firms -- Samsung, Hyundai Motor, SK, LG, Lotte, GS, Hanwha, Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hanjin and Doosan -- spent an average 7.57 trillion won a year for accounts set aside for entertainment purposes or miscellaneous spending. 

The miscellaneous account is not always used for entertainment purposes, but research showed that this was typically the case in a majority of Korean firms. 

Marketing expenses at the top 10 firms reached 20.73 trillion won, while sales promotional expenses reached 11.29 trillion won.

Entertainment fees, legally, encompass all expenses related to the purpose of entertaining persons or firms with business connections.

By Yoon Hyon-jong (factism@heraldcorp.com">factism@heraldcorp.com)/Kim Ji-hyun (jemmie@heraldcorp.com)