Telecommunications firms in Korea are cutting back on spending next year due to worries that the global financial turndown will soon hit home, The Korea Herald reported.

Most of the telecom industry's revenues come from the domestic market, and mobile carriers and fixed line operators are expected to either maintain budgets into 2009, or cut 5 to 20 percent.

SK Telecom will cut down on its spending by the largest margin announced so far, with a planned 20 percent budget cut, according to The Korea Herald article, posted by AsiaMedia. SK stated that the economic woes seen around the world are expected to have a worse impact on the country's economy that first expected.

KTF Co. is Korea's second-largest mobile carrier, and plans to reduce operating costs by about 10 percent in 2009, and has lowered investments this year from 950 billion won to 800 billion won.

KT Corp is the largest fixed-line company in the country, and announced it although its investments are not planned to change next year, it will also cut spending except for in its new business operations. LG Telecom has not yet finalised its 2009 budget, but experts believe it is also looking to reduce spending and investments next year, according to The Korea Herald.