A majority of companies in South Korea are pessimistic about business outlook for next month due to worries over the expected rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve, a poll showed Sunday.

According to the survey conducted on 600 South Korean companies by the Federation of Korean Industries, the business survey index for the last month of 2015 stood at 97.5.

A reading below 100 means companies that are pessimistic about business conditions down the road outnumber optimists.

After peaking at 103.7 in March, the figure has stayed below the break-even 100 mark up till September, before rising to 101.2 for the month of October. This rebound was short-lived since the reading once again fell to 95.9 in November.

The FKI attributed the downturn mainly to businesses being worried about the fallout of the U.S. interest rate hike next month.

The move, although anticipated for some time, could cause an outflow of funds from emerging markets that can fuel unwanted volatility.

There have been concerns that the rate hikes would force the Bank of Korea to follow suit down the road, which could pose considerable challenges for the country's private sector debt.

The federation, that represents the interest of the country's largest companies, also said that the recent terrorist attack in Paris is contributing to greater geopolitical risks.

For December, businesses were pessimistic in such key categories as exports, investment, profitability, flow of funds and employment, the poll showed.

"Latest data showed drop in corporate sales and with next year's growth likely to hover in the upper 2 percent range, things are not looking too bright," Hong Sung-il, a finance strategy director at FKI, said.

"In order to keep alive the growth recovery trend, critical reform bills being held up in parliament must be approved as soon as possible, as well as the free trade deal with China," he said.

Businesses have been calling for changes to corporate restructuring and labor market reform bills for some time now. (Yonhap)