The survey was conducted on the country's 300 largest companies by revenue by the institute under the Federation of Korean Industries, the nation's big business lobby, from 2013 to 2015. Among them, 141 companies answered.

In the survey, 21.3 percent said regulations have led to a decline in sales and operating profits while 19.5 percent said regulations lowered productivity and 10.3 percent said they hindered investment and job creation.

More than 300 regulations are in place against private South Korean companies as of May.

Yang Geum-seung, a senior research fellow of KERI, called on the government to either abolish or ease irrational regulations against big companies, noting regulations against big companies could undermine their competitiveness and hinder their growth.

President Park Geun-hye has been pushing to lift or ease all but core regulations to create jobs and reinvigorate Asia's fourth-largest economy, calling unnecessary business restrictions "our archenemy" and a "cancer."

The results of the survey came as Korea's economy remains in the doldrums in the face of stubbornly weak domestic demand and falling exports stemming from sagging overseas demand for its products. (Yonhap)