The economy in the first quarter of this year was expected to improve compared with the fourth quarter of last year.
According to the "first-quarter 2026 middle market corporate business outlook survey" released by the Federation of Middle Market Enterprises of Korea (FOMEK) on the 2nd, the first-quarter business outlook index for middle market corporations rose 0.7 points from the previous quarter to 82.1, up for a second straight quarter.
The survey was conducted from Nov. 17 to Dec. 1 last year on 800 middle market corporations. The business outlook index quantifies corporations' perceptions of future operating conditions; when it exceeds 100, it means more corporations view the next quarter positively than in the prior quarter. Below 100 indicates the opposite.
The manufacturing business outlook index was found at 76.0, down 0.4 points from the fourth quarter of last year. However, the non-manufacturing business outlook index rose 1.9 points to 87.6.
The export outlook index for middle market corporations came in at 91.3, up 0.5 points from October to December last year. Manufacturing was 92.3, up 6.5 points from the previous quarter, while non-manufacturing was tallied at 89.6, down 9.5 points.
The domestic demand outlook index for middle market corporations recorded 85.6, up 3.0 points from the fourth quarter of last year, as both manufacturing (80.9) and non-manufacturing (89.9) rose. In manufacturing, the chemicals and petroleum products sector (85.4) climbed 18.3 points from the prior quarter.
Outlooks for key management indicators such as production, operating profit, and funding also showed an improving trend. The production outlook index was tallied at 85.0, and the operating profit outlook index at 81.7. The funding outlook index came to 89.2, with both manufacturing (89.7) and non-manufacturing (88.8) showing upward momentum.
Park Yang-gyun, head of policy at FOMEK, said, "To build a solid foundation for economic recovery by leveraging the momentum of surpassing $700 billion in exports (about 1,012 trillion won), achieved as the sixth in the world, proactive deregulation and policy support are needed to quickly restore the dynamism of corporations."