Six out of 10 major domestic corporations (59.1%) either have no investment plan for next year or have not yet established one, was found. This is interpreted as stemming from expanded uncertainty in internal and external business conditions due to trade risks and a strong dollar.
The Federation of Korean Industries on the 7th released the results of a survey on "2026 investment plans" conducted by polling firm Mono Research for the top 500 corporations by sales. A total of 110 corporations responded to the survey.
Among responding corporations, 43.6% said they "have not yet established" an investment plan for next year, and 15.5% said they "have no plan." Corporations with undecided investment plans cited reasons such as "organizational reshuffle and personnel moves (37.5%)," "prioritizing assessment of internal and external risks such as tariff (25.0%)," and "uncertain domestic and global economic outlook for next year (18.8%)."
Among the 40.9% of corporations that have set investment plans, 53.4% responded that next year's investment scale would remain similar to this year. Corporations that said they would reduce investment compared with this year accounted for 33.3%, while 13.3% said they would expand.
Corporations that will cut investment or have no investment plan cited reasons such as "negative domestic and global economic outlook for next year (26.9%)," "risks from a strong dollar and rising raw material prices (19.4%)," and "sluggish domestic demand (17.2%)." Corporations that said they would expand investment pointed to reasons such as "securing first-mover advantage and competitiveness in future industries (38.9%)" and "replacing and improving aging existing facilities (22.2%)."
Corporations cited as the biggest investment risks next year "the spread of protectionism such as tariff and worsening supply chain instability (23.7%)," "economic slowdown in major countries such as the U.S. and China (22.5%)," and "a strong dollar (15.2%)." For the biggest obstacles to domestic investment, responses were "burden of taxes and various charges (21.7%)," "labor market regulations and rigidity (17.1%)," and "regulations related to investment such as location and permits (14.4%)," in that order.
FKI analyzed, "As an environment that dampens corporations' investment capacity has formed, including the recent increase in corporate tax burden, revisions to Articles 2 and 3 of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act, and discussions on extending the retirement age, corporations are being cautious in making investment decisions."
Corporations said policy tasks needed to improve the domestic investment environment include "expanding tax incentives and subsidies (27.3%)," "revitalizing domestic demand (23.9%)," and "stabilizing exchange rates (11.2%)."
Lee Sang-ho, head of FKI's Economic and Industrial Division, said, "Supply chain instability, foreign exchange volatility, and various regulations are factors that dampen investment," adding, "Along with efforts to stabilize exchange rates, there is a need to promote domestic investment through institutional support to boost investment vitality, such as tax incentives for advanced industries and regulatory improvement."