The Daegu Chamber of Commerce and Industry holds its "2026 First-Half Economic Trends Briefing" on July 10 at the chamber's 10th-floor conference hall. [Provided by Daegu Chamber of Commerce and Industry]
The Daegu Chamber of Commerce and Industry holds its "2026 First-Half Economic Trends Briefing" on July 10 at the chamber's 10th-floor conference hall. [Provided by Daegu Chamber of Commerce and Industry]

The Daegu Chamber of Commerce and Industry held its "2026 First-Half Economic Trends Briefing" on Friday at the chamber's 10th-floor conference hall, with about 100 attendees including Daegu Mayor Choo Kyung-ho, heads of business support agencies, association and cooperative leaders, and company representatives.

Senior officials attending included Jeong Gi-hwan, head of the Daegu-North Gyeongsang Province Regional Office of Small and Medium Venture Business; Kang Sang-gi, acting head of the Daegu-North Gyeongsang Province Free Economic Zone Authority; Yun Gyeong-ja, head of the Daegu Regional Office of the Public Procurement Service; Kim Seon-jae, director of the Daegu Employment Center under the Daegu Regional Employment and Labor Office; Kim Ju-hyeon, head of the Bank of Korea's Daegu-North Gyeongsang Province branch; and Lee Hyeon-seok, head of the Financial Supervisory Service's Daegu-North Gyeongsang Province office.

According to the economic trends presented at the briefing, average manufacturing production in Daegu from January through May rose 4.0 percent year-on-year, driven by increased output of metal fabricated products and electronic components.

Over the same period, exports reached $3.97 billion, up 10.0 percent from a year earlier, while imports came in at $2.93 billion, a 20.2 percent increase.

Construction activity, however, remained sluggish.

New construction orders totaled 318.5 billion won ($244.5 million) during the period, a 78.1 percent drop from the previous year — a stark contrast to the national average growth rate of 41.2 percent.

Meanwhile, a survey of 443 local companies conducted by the Daegu Chamber on first-half business performance and second-half outlook found that 71.5 percent of respondents said they had failed to meet their first-half targets.

The most commonly cited reason was a decline in orders and weak demand from major clients, at 54.0 percent, followed by rising cost burdens from raw materials, logistics and energy at 33.9 percent, and difficulty securing new clients and developing new markets at 16.7 percent.

On the second-half outlook, 52.3 percent of companies expected conditions to worsen, while 33.1 percent anticipated no change and 14.6 percent expected improvement.

In terms of government support, companies most frequently called for improved financial support and funding conditions, at 43.5 percent. For regional economic revitalization, 59.0 percent said attracting large corporations and public institutions was the top priority.

"As complex business risks, including weak domestic demand, are expected to persist in the second half, we will focus all our efforts on identifying policies and expanding support to ease corporate difficulties and strengthen competitiveness," said Park Yun-gyeong, chairwoman of the Daegu Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Mayor Choo said the city would continue holding regular emergency economic council meetings to broaden communication with business leaders and pursue field-oriented policies to resolve corporate difficulties swiftly.


kbj7653@heraldcorp.com