Despite the semiconductor boom, there is a shadow over the mid-term... This year, production has decreased and the proportion of exports has decreased.

(Sejong = Yonhap News) Reporter Ahn Chae-won and Song Jeong-eun = While large semiconductor companies are leading Korea's economic growth, small and medium-sized companies are unable to fully enjoy the fruits of the boom, with manufacturing production falling behind and the share of exports decreasing.

According to the National Statistics Portal (KOSIS) and Industrial Activity Trends of the National Data Agency on the 11th, the small and medium-sized enterprise manufacturing production index (2020 = 100) in August was 83.9, down 4.0% from the same month last year.

In the same month, the production index of large companies also decreased by 1.8%, but the decline for small and medium-sized companies was more than twice as large.

The gap between the production index of large companies (118.6) and that of small and medium-sized companies reaches 34.7.

It is analyzed that the decline in production in August was largely influenced by the automobile slump.

The automobile production index in August decreased by 29.4% compared to the same month last year due to summer vacation and strikes. It appears that as the operation of finished vehicles has decreased, small and medium-sized parts companies that are partners have also been affected.

The average small and medium-sized business production index from January to August decreased by 0.8% compared to the same period last year. This is in contrast to large companies, which increased by 2.9% over the same period.

During this period, the small and medium-sized business production index has decreased for the fourth year to this year, following 2023 (-6.4%), 2024 (-0.4%), and 2025 (-2.5%).

On the other hand, large companies increased for three consecutive years in 2024 (6.4%) and 2025 (5.0%).

The gap was also noticeable in exports.

According to the Korea Customs Service, exports of small and medium-sized businesses in August amounted to $10.1 billion, up 20.4% from the same month last year, but exports of large companies ($77.1 billion) increased by 94.2%, showing a much higher increase.

However, the Korea Customs Service explained that exports of small and medium-sized businesses have been increasing for six consecutive months since March of this year.

The share of exports by small and medium-sized businesses in August was 10.3%, a decrease from the same month last year (14.4%).

Cumulative exports of small and medium-sized enterprises from January to August amounted to $83.3 billion. It increased by 14.8% from last year and accounts for 12.0% of total exports.

Exports of large corporations recorded a cumulative $517.3 billion from January to August, up 74.4% from the same period last year. Its share in total exports is 74.6%.

The concentration of semiconductors is considered to be the reason for the growing polarization between large and small businesses.

Of the $46.8 billion in semiconductor exports in August, large companies accounted for $43.5 billion, or 92.9%.

On the other hand, semiconductor exports by small and medium-sized enterprises amounted to only $460 million.

The wage gap is also widening.

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor's business labor force survey, the average monthly wage per worker at businesses with 300 or more employees in July of this year increased by 3.3% (209,000 won) to 6.49 million won. Businesses with less than 300 employees increased by 1.7% (64,000 won) to 3,846,000 won.

The wage gap between those with more than 300 employees and those with less than 300 employees was 1.69 times, slightly wider than the same month last year (1.66 times).

Even though semiconductor companies pay large performance bonuses, performance bonuses are largely temporary and the wage gap still remains, so it is predicted that the effect of recovering consumption in the future will be limited.

The National Assembly Budget Office predicted that the growth rate of private consumption will slow from 2.3% this year to 2.0% next year.

The Ministry of Planning noted that temporary income such as bonuses and performance bonuses is unlikely to lead to consumption due to its low sustainability.

Typically, the marginal propensity to consume for temporary income is estimated to be around 0.15. This means that even if you temporarily earn 1 million won more, the increase in consumption may only be around 150,000 won.