Major Korean companies plan to reduce investment

VTV.vn - A newly released survey shows that large Korean corporations are preparing to reduce domestic investment flows by 2026.

Major Korean companies plan to reduce investment

A newly released survey shows that major South Korean conglomerates are preparing to reduce domestic investment flows by 2026, while sharply increasing overseas spending under growing pressure from US tariff policies.

According to a survey conducted by the Korea Business Federation with 229 CEOs and senior leaders, nearly half of the group of enterprises with more than 300 employees said they would reduce domestic investment in the coming year. On the contrary, more than 45% of enterprises intend to increase investment abroad, mainly due to the need to expand operations in the US to cope with the tariff measures of President Donald Trump's administration. This trend raises concerns about the risk of continued capital outflows from businesses, thereby negatively affecting domestic economic activities in Korea.

At a meeting of major corporate leaders on November 16, President Lee Jae Myung stressed that investment in the US should not come at the expense of domestic investment. Subsequently, major corporations announced long-term plans: Samsung Electronics plans to spend 450 trillion won over five years; SK Group invests 128 trillion won by 2028; Hyundai Motor Group pledges 125.2 trillion won over the next five years. However, analysts say most of these are pre-existing plans, and the amount of new capital added is not large.

Hyundai Research Institute forecasts that infrastructure investment growth in South Korea will slow from 1.8% this year to 1.5% in 2026, as the impact of US tariffs becomes clear, hurting trade and exports.

Regarding employment, the KEF survey found that 59% of businesses plan to maintain the same staff size, 32.3% will cut back and only 8.7% plan to hire more. KEF believes that to promote investment, Korea needs to reduce regulatory burdens and improve labor market flexibility.

Source: https://vtv.vn/doanh-nghiep-lon-han-quoc-du-kien-giam-dau-tu-100251201094842611.htm