Seoul: It is no exaggeration to say that South Korea's economy is currently being propped up by the semiconductor industry. Semiconductors accounted for a record 42.3 percent of its exports in May, the highest share ever. Thanks to the explosion in demand for semiconductors driven by advances in artificial intelligence, Korea, a global semiconductor manufacturing powerhouse, is reaping substantial benefits. However, the country's industrial sector as a whole remains mired in a slump amid deteriorating external economic conditions. According to Yonhap News Agency, the semiconductor boom is obscuring the true state of the broader economy. It will not last indefinitely. If the boom goes cold, South Korea's economic growth could take a nosedive. This is an unavoidable risk because the entire economy depends too heavily on a few sectors, including semiconductors. Only when growth is broad-based across industries can the economy remain resilient. The government should devote as much attention and support to other manufacturing industries and businesses as they do to the semiconductor sector. The Federation of Korean Industries' analysis of trends in marginal firms in South Korea, the United States, Britain, Germany, France, and Japan, released on Tuesday, highlighted a concerning trend: so-called zombie companies, marginal firms unable to cover even their interest expenses with operating profit, accounted for 27.6 percent of all listed companies in South Korea last year. The figure was second only to the United States, where the share stood at 30.7 percent. The proportion of zombie companies in South Korea increased by 15.8 percentage points from 11.8 percent in 2017. Although other countries also saw an increase in the share of zombie companies during the same period, South Korea recorded the biggest increase. Its increase looks especially pronounced compared with the United States, where the share rose by the second-largest amount of 9.5 percentage points. Tough external conditions, such as exchange-rate fluctuati ons and rising raw material prices, have increased the burden on companies across many countries. However, the sharp increase in the share of zombie companies in South Korea suggests that the country's underlying economic problems are relatively more serious. According to a recent Bank of Korea study, a 1 percentage point increase in the share of zombie companies in an industry lowers the investment and employment growth rates of healthy firms by 0.14 to 0.18 percentage points, with the effect lasting for two to three years. The plight of the self-employed and small business owners is no less serious than the problem of zombie companies. The self-employed's outstanding loans from financial institutions approached a record 1,100 trillion won ($705.7 billion) as of late in the first quarter of this year, while their delinquency rate rose above 2 percent, the highest level in more than a decade. The self-employed sector is also one of the pillars of the economy. South Korea has a relatively high rate of self-e mployment by international standards. If the self-employed sector collapses, the economy will suffer a significant shock. The Korean economy is not in particularly good shape, apart from a handful of large corporations. Korea needs to strengthen its overall economy to sustain growth in an uncertain future. Marginal companies that hurt healthy businesses need to be dealt with so they do not become a drag on the economy. Businesses with no viable future should be phased out, while those that are likely to survive and worth saving should receive support and guidance. The stellar sales and operating profits posted by the two semiconductor giants - Samsung Electronics and SK hynix - should not obscure the need to restructure failing companies.