(MENAFN- QNA) A majority of South Koreans think the national economy will remain mired in a slump and face more difficult times ahead, a nationwide poll carried out by the lobbying group for the country's largest companies said Sunday.
The survey, conducted on 800 people over 19, showed 73.2% of the respondents expressing pessimism about the state of the economy down the road with quite a few expecting things to get worse, the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) said. Of the total, 20.4% thought the economy will head downhill.
In comparison, only 21% said the economy will gain momentum, with 5.8% declining to make any predictions.
"The poll clearly shows that people perceive the economy as struggling at the moment and are worried about the future," the federation said.
The latest findings also revealed that 59.5% of those polled could not even predict when the economy will make a comeback, with 14.3% saying things may start improving after 2016.
The FKI said 12.6% of the respondents thought the economy may rebound in the first half of next year, with 10.6% predicting some sort of recovery in the second half of 2015.
Only 3% said things may start getting better before the end of this year, South Korea's News Agency (Yonhap) reported.
In regards to household spending for this year, 42.1% of the respondents said there was no change compared to 2013, with 36.7% claiming they cut back on spending with only 20.6% saying they spent more.
On why people were spending less, 23.6% of those surveyed cited a rise in household debt, followed by 20.6% who said they had to tighten their belts due to more money spent on education and medical expenses.
Others said they were spending less because they were uncertain about their future, with some worried about a rise in home rental costs and employment.
The FKI said 52.9% of people thought South Korea lagged behind countries such as China, Singapore and Japan when it came to having a business-friendly environment. Only 19.1% argued it was better than that of these rivals.
To deal with such conditions, 42.8% called for more peaceful labor-management relations, followed by 28.1% who said stable land prices and lower logistics costs can correct the situation. In addition, 14.1% said there is a need to ease red tape and alleviate "anti-business" sentiment in society.
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