企业发展失衡，韩媒担心“马太效应”

Group 1 - South Korea's economic growth forecast has been significantly downgraded to 0.8% by the Korea Development Institute, reflecting issues such as capital flow imbalance and a downturn in the manufacturing sector [1] - Foreign investment in South Korea decreased by 33.8% year-on-year to $37.184 billion, while domestic investment abroad increased, indicating a structural trend that may weaken domestic economic vitality [1] - Major corporations in South Korea reported double-digit growth in operating profits in Q1, while medium-sized enterprises faced declining profits, highlighting a "Matthew effect" where larger firms thrive at the expense of smaller ones [2] Group 2 - The sales revenue of the top 500 medium-sized listed companies in South Korea increased by 4% year-on-year to 60.092 trillion KRW, but operating profits fell by 2.7% [2] - The construction and building materials sectors saw a dramatic decline in operating profits by 65.6%, while the IT and electronics sectors also experienced a 22.6% decrease [2] - South Korea's manufacturing output decreased by 0.8% in Q1, particularly in the chemicals and machinery sectors, contributing to a 0.2% decline in actual GDP [2] Group 3 - The proportion of employment in the manufacturing sector has been declining, reaching a low of 15.5% of total employment, the lowest since the implementation of the 10th version of the Korean Standard Industry Classification in 2013 [2] - The manufacturing employment share is projected to further decline to 15.7% in 2023 and 15.6% in 2024, with a significant drop in employment numbers observed in April [3] - The recovery in the manufacturing sector, particularly in semiconductors, is not translating into job growth due to the capital-intensive nature of these industries, leading to a slow recovery in the job market [3]