Among them, 132 companies, or 67.7 percent, recorded lower operating profits than expected during the October-December period.

Hanjin Kal Corp., the nation's top flight service firm, reaped only 1.7 billion won ($1.48 million) in operating income, far below 20.9 billion won expected by multiple securities firms.

They also expected Mirae Asset Daewoo Co., a leading brokerage, to post 20.5 billion won in operating profit, but it actually lost

182.3 billion won.

Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co. was projected to gain

77.2 billion won, but it posted an operating deficit of 767.8 billion won as all potential loss-making businesses were counted in its latest earnings report.

On the other hand, department stores and manufacturers of display products, smartphones and memory chips recorded higher-than-expected operating profits in general. (Yonhap)