Businesses Worry About Triple Whammy

Korean businesses cite rising raw material costs, lockdown and increased interest rates as the main problems burdening them.

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry said Monday that a recent multiple-choice straw poll of 104 big and 206 small companies found that 81.6 percent cited rising raw material costs, while 80.6 percent pointed to lockdown and 67.7 percent rising interest rates.

The Bank of Korea hiked the base interest rate by 0.25 percentage point to 0.75 percent last week. The survey was conducted just beforehand, and the majority still hoped the BOK would keep the rate frozen a little longer.