SEOUL, January 01 (AJP) -About half of South Koreans believe economic conditions will deteriorate in 2026, with inflation emerging as the most urgent concern, even as many remain optimistic that the stock market’s rally can extend further, a survey showed Thursday.
A poll conducted by Realmeter on behalf of Energy Economy News found that 46.4 percent of respondents expect the economy next year to be “worse than now,” compared with 33.8 percent who believe conditions will improve. The pessimistic view outweighed optimism by 12.6 percentage points, beyond the margin of error.
Pessimism was strongest among the young, reflecting the anxieties over job and income insecurity of the younger cohort.
Respondents in their 50s were relatively upbeat, with 45.8 percent expecting improvement versus 38.8 percent anticipating deterioration. In contrast, pessimism was strongest among those aged 18–29 (56.8 percent) and those 70 or older (55.3 percent).
When asked which economic issue the government should prioritize in 2026, respondents most frequently cited price stability, at 29.4 percent, reflecting continued pressure on household budgets from elevated living costs.
Other priorities followed at a distance: easing corporate regulations and boosting investment (15.9 percent), strengthening export competitiveness and nurturing new industries (12.8 percent), expanding jobs and employment (12.0 percent), and reducing household debt and interest burdens (10.9 percent). Support for the self-employed and small businesses (8.3 percent) and assistance for youth and future generations (7.7 percent) ranked lower.
Political orientation also played a decisive role. Among conservatives, 71.1 percent said the economy would worsen, while 59.0 percent of progressives expected improvement. Centrists were more divided, with pessimistic views (42.7 percent) narrowly exceeding optimistic ones (34.4 percent).
Despite the downbeat economic outlook, views on the stock market were more balanced. When asked whether the benchmark KOSPI index could reach 5,000 points in 2026, 48.7 percent said it was possible, exceeding the 42.5 percent who said it was unlikely.
By age group, optimism was highest among people in their 40s (55.1 percent), 50s (57.1 percent) and 60s (52.6 percent), while respondents aged 70 or older were the most pessimistic, with 54.4 percent doubting the possibility of a KOSPI 5,000 era.
Ideological divides again surfaced, with 73.0 percent of progressives saying the index could reach 5,000, compared with 60.4 percent of conservatives who said it could not. Centrists were split, with 48.2 percent optimistic and 42.5 percent pessimistic.
The survey was conducted on Dec. 29–30, 2025, among 1,025 adults aged 18 or older nationwide using automated random-digit dialing (RDD) of mobile phones. The margin of error is ±3.1 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level. Results were weighted by gender, age and region based on October 2025 resident registration data.
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