SERI Forecasts Economic Trends for 1999

The Korean economy will recover gradually this year and the GNP(Gross National Product) per capita will be about 7,300 dollars, the Samsung Economic Research Institute(SERI) forecasted.
Whearas, there is a good chance that the continued restructuring of companies will deepen the friction between labor and management and the political sector will continue to drift, SERI cautioned.
On January 20, SERI released their report on the trends of 10 economic factors for this year: the growth rate will record 1.5 percent this year, compared to the negative 5.3-percent growth rate of last year; the unemployment rate will surpass 10 percent at one point in the year, as the restructuring of companies is accelerated.
SERI predicted that as speculative mergers and acquisitions(M&A) by foreign companies increases, the influence of foreigners will be stronger than ever.