The combined corporate taxes that will be paid by listed firms of South Korea's top 10 business conglomerates is set to more than halve, as their profits dropped in the first six months due to slowing exports and weaker demand at home, industry data showed Sunday.

According to the data from industry tracker Chaebul.com, the combined operating profit of 96 listed firms of the top 10 conglomerates plunged 51.3 percent on-year to 24.9 trillion won ($20.7 billion) in the first half. 

In line with the declining profit, the 96 firms will pay a combined 5.9 trillion won in corporate tax next year, down 55.1 percent from this year, the data showed.

In South Korea, a company pays corporate tax based on its earnings reported in the previous year.

Corporate tax accounts for about 25 percent of the nation's total tax income, Chaebul.com said.

Market watchers have painted a gloomy picture of large firms' profit outlook, citing a lengthy trade row between the United States and China, the world's top two economies and the biggest markets for Korean firms.

For listed firms of Samsung Group, the nation's largest family-run business conglomerate, combined pre-tax profit dropped 58.4 percent on-year to 27.7 trillion won for the January-June period.

Samsung Electronics Co., the group's crown jewel, reported a pre-tax profit of 8.4 trillion won for the first half, down 78.7 percent from a year ago.

Based on the earnings, Samsung Electronics will pay 7.2 trillion won in first-half corporate tax next year, down 2.1 trillion won from this year. (Yonhap)