People Think Recession Will Continue Longer

Most Koreans think that the current economic downturn will last until next year. They also answered that they have laid aside a sizable sum of money to see them through the recession.
This reflects the general public's feeling that the slight recovery the nation has enjoyed recently will not translate to a quicker long term recovery, no matter how much the government stresses and assures a plus growth by the end of 1999.
The Korea Development Institute(KDI) together with the Korea Broadcasting System(KBS) on November 22, revealed results of their public survey titled 'Consciousness Change after a Year of International Monetary Fund Bailout'.
Out of 1003 persons over the age of 20 surveyed, 63.1% responded that the merciless layoffs were an economic necessity.
66.3% also replied that they have put aside money in case they may need it.
Since the IMF bail-out, the greatest curtailment of spending was dining-out(52.2%), clothes and shoes(45.7%), and leisure(31.6%).