The liberal main opposition Minjoo Party will hold 123 seats in the unicameral parliament, while the number of lawmakers with the conservative ruling Saenuri Party will be reduced to 122. The Minjoo Party has long called for jacking up corporate tax rates, currently set at 10-22 percent.

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry said it has conducted a poll of 50 pundits here.

Among them, 72 percent said Asia's fourth-largest economy needs to maintain the current level of corporate tax, according to the KCCI.

And 12 percent called for a reduction in the rates in order to help expand investment and employment.

The remaining 16 percent suggested corporate tax hikes over the long term.

The experts were largely downbeat about the South Korean economy, said the Seoul-based KCCI.

A majority of them predicted that its growth will continue to slow for the time being.

As to this year's growth rate, 76.9 percent responded it is projected to stand in the upper half of the 2-percent range.

They picked nine major risks including troubles in the Chinese economy, the U.S. Fed's interest-rate decision and instability in Latin America and other emerging economies.

North Korea's provocation is among the other factors that may hurt the South Korean economy, along with fluctuations in crude oil and other raw materials, Japan's economic slump, impact from the U.S. presidential elections, uncertainty over the eurozone economy, and conflicts involving the Islamic State.

"South Korea should disperse risks by boosting the domestic spending market through the promotion of the service industry," said Kim Seong-tae, a researcher at the Korea Development Institute. (Yonhap)