Industrial output growth slows to 5-year low in 2025
This undated photo shows Samsung Electronics' production line in the city of Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. Courtesy of Samsung Electronics
Korea's industrial output grew at the slowest pace in five years in 2025, despite strong growth in the semiconductor industry, while retail sales and facility investment showed signs of improvement, government data showed Friday.
Industrial output gained 0.5 percent from a year earlier in 2025, slowing from a 1.5 percent increase the previous year, according to the data from the Ministry of Statistics and Data.
The 2025 figure marks the weakest growth since 2020, when output contracted amid the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The output of the mining and manufacturing sector, considered the backbone of the economy, gained 1.6 percent in 2025, the ministry said.
The ministry said chip output surged as global semiconductor demand continued to rise amid the artificial intelligence (AI) boom.
Retail sales, a key indicator of private spending, also rose 0.5 percent from a year earlier, rebounding from a decline the previous year.
The rise was led by higher sales of durable goods, such as passenger vehicles, which jumped 4.5 percent on-year, the data showed.
Sales of semidurable goods, such as clothing, fell 2.2 percent, while sales of nondurable goods, including cosmetics, slipped 0.3 percent.
Facility investment advanced 1.7 percent on-year in 2025, extending gains for a second straight year, supported by strong demand for transportation equipment and chip-related machinery, according to the data.
Construction investment weakened, with construction orders falling 16.2 percent from a year earlier, the data showed.