A Samsung flag is seen at the company's headquarters in southern Seoul / Korea Times file

The combined first-quarter sales of major firms in Korea surpassed the 700 trillion-won ($545 billion) mark for the first time ever on strong performances by semiconductors, electronics, petrochemicals and auto manufacturers, a corporate tracker said Tuesday.

The total top line of 344 out of Korea's top 500 companies by sales came to slightly over 793 trillion won in the January to March period, up 19.8 percent from a year earlier, according to CEO Score.

The 344 corporations cover those that have disclosed their financial statements for the first quarter.

By sector, the information technology, electric and electronics industry, which includes chip making, posted the largest sales with 143.3 trillion won.

The petrochemicals sector came next with 101.4 trillion won, followed by autos and auto parts with 80.4 trillion won, insurance with 67.2 trillion won and securities with 48.2 trillion won.

In contrast, the shipbuilding, machinery and equipment industry suffered a 2.7 percent year-on-year decline, and the communications sector also saw sales shrink 1.8 percent.

Global tech titan Samsung Electronics, the flagship unit of Korea's leading family-controlled conglomerate, Samsung Group, remained the biggest company in the first quarter, with its top line reaching 77.8 trillion won.

The combined operating income of those companies came to 62.3 trillion won for the three-month period, up 5.4 percent from a year ago.

Samsung Electronics also recorded the biggest operating income with 14.1 trillion won, which was up a whopping 50.5 percent from the previous year, according to CEO Score. (Yonhap)