Industry says 'Hide and breathe' at the end of the year ahead of 'Thorn Field Road'..."A new year's tightening stance".

[Anchor]
The domestic industry, which has had a difficult year, has calmly started "breathing" for the year-end and New Year holidays.

However, next year, there is a more difficult "thorns" such as the tariff war from the U.S. and the high exchange rate, so the tension cannot be let go.

Reporter Hwang Hye-kyung reports.

[Reporter]
Companies that have completed big schedules such as regular year-end personnel appointments and New Year's strategic meetings have entered a "rest mode" ahead of the New Year.

It seems that they are quietly recharging by setting a recommended vacation period or encouraging annual exhaustion of executives and employees.

However, considering the recession and uncertainty that will continue next year, this calm atmosphere is rather read as the "silence of the eve of the typhoon."

It is interpreted in the same context that many companies have set next year's stance as "tightening" and have made personnel appointments that focus on organizational efficiency.

In fact, a survey of 21 large corporations showed that executive promotions were down nearly 10% compared to last year,

Both Samsung, SK, and LG have not produced any promotions for vice chairman in three years.

POSCO Group, which has been reeling from poor performance and safety accidents this year, has reduced its employee promotion rate by 30% compared to last year, and has also replaced all seven of its affiliates' representatives.The only place where the 'end-of-year promotion party' of

was possible was SK Hynix, which did well with its high bandwidth memory.

In addition, 61% of large companies with 300 or more employees said they would tighten management next year, the highest since 2016,

The largest number of respondents said they would reduce their investment plans and recruitment plans for the new year from this year.

[Lee Seung-yong / Head of Economic Analysis Division, Korea Employers Federation: The response to tightening management plans by companies, especially large companies, has been quite high due to high uncertainties in external exports due to the recent global economic slowdown and the spread of protectionism. As the economic situation in 2025 is not expected to be much better than this year....]

South Korea's economy is struggling to find its footing amid a tense situation of emergency martial law and impeachment.There are mixed anxieties and expectations about whether the year of the blue snake can be safely hit by removing the modifier

's fog'.

I'm YTN Hwang Hye-kyung.