Seoul: Nearly 60 percent of South Korea's mid-sized companies have no plans to hire new employees in the second half of the year due to an economic slowdown, a local business lobby group said Monday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, in a recent survey of 800 mid-sized companies, the Federation of Middle Market Enterprises of Korea (FOMEK) found that 56 percent do not plan to hire in the second half. Respondents cited worsening business performance, rising labor costs, and the economic downturn as the main reasons for not hiring.

In South Korea, companies with total assets between 500 billion and 10 trillion won are classified as mid-sized businesses. The remaining 44 percent said they plan to hire in the second half, though some expect to reduce the scale of hiring compared with the first half due to sluggish demand.

Companies urged the government to increase financial support for hiring, create a more flexible job market, and offer additional tax benefits. "The government needs to come up with solutions to key labor issues such as extending the retirement age, reorganizing ordinary wages and adjusting working hours," a FOMEK official said.