40% of large companies have undecided investment plans for next year... 15% responded ”no plans” = South Korea

A survey found that about four out of 10 major Korean companies have yet to formulate investment plans for next year, mainly due to the negative economic outlook both at home and abroad.
This was the most frequently cited reason, followed by high exchange rates, the risk of rising raw material prices, and a shrinking domestic demand market.
A survey of 110 companies was conducted, and 43.6% responded that they had not yet established an investment plan for next fiscal year. 15.
Compared to last year's survey results, the percentage of people who answered "no plans" decreased by 13 percentage points, but the percentage of people who answered "no plans" increased by 4.1 percentage points.
The number of companies that have decided on investment plans increased by 8.9 percentage points to 40.9%. The reasons given by companies that have not yet decided on investment plans are the timing of organizational restructuring and personnel transfers (37.5%), the risk of internal and external dangers, and so on.
Among companies that have already formulated plans, 25% said they plan to maintain the same level of investment next year as they did this year, while 25% said they plan to continue investing next year as they have already done so due to the uncertainty surrounding the domestic and international economic outlook.
53.4% of companies said they would reduce the scale of their investments. 33.3% said they would reduce the scale of their investments, and only 13.3% said they would expand. Companies that reduced the scale of their investments or had no plans to do so explained their reasons.
Among the reasons cited were negative domestic and international economic outlook for next year (26.9%), high exchange rates and the risk of rising raw material prices (19.4%), and shrinking domestic demand markets (17.2%).
Companies that responded that they would do so cited the need to anticipate future industrial opportunities and maintain competitiveness (38.9%) and the replacement and improvement of aging existing facilities (22.2%) as reasons.
Additionally, 36.4% of responding companies have established plans to invest in artificial intelligence (AI) next year (12.7%) or are considering doing so (23.7%).
%). More than half (55.1%) of respondents cited the goal of investing in AI as improving the efficiency of production and operations (process automation, logistics optimization, AI agents, etc.).
The biggest investment risks seen by companies next year are the spread of protectionist trade practices such as tariffs and deepening supply chain instability (23.7%), the US and
The biggest obstacles to investing in Japan were the economic slowdown in major countries such as China (22.5%) and high exchange rates (15.2%). The biggest obstacles to investing in Japan were the high burden of taxes and other charges (21.7%) and labor market regulations.
・Rigidity (17.1%) and investment-related regulations such as location and permits (14.4%) were the top concerns. Lee Sang Ho, head of the economy and industry division at the Korea Economic Cooperation Association, said, "Uncertainty about the supply chain and currency fluctuations are
"In addition to efforts to stabilize the exchange rate, we will also take measures to support investment, such as tax systems for advanced industries (such as tax systems to promote domestic production) and improving regulations," he said.
"We need to promote domestic investment with institutional backing to increase capital vitality."