South Korean economy suffers slowdown: KDI
This photo provided by Samsung Electronics shows the firm's semiconductor manufacturing center in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. Korea Times file
The South Korean economy showed a slowdown in production and demand amid declining exports, a state-run think-tank said Tuesday.
South Korea's exports slipped 5.8 percent in January from a year earlier due mainly to weaker performances by chips and petrochemical goods.
In January, South Korea shipped $7.42 billion worth of semiconductors, down 23.3 percent from a year earlier, while outbound shipments of petrochemical goods fell 5.3 percent on-year.
The Korea Development Institute said a slowing global economy weighed on South Korea's exports in January.
"The Korean economy exhibits a continued slowdown in production and demand," the KDI said in its monthly evaluation of the country's economic conditions.
Retail sales gained 3 percent in December, accelerating from the previous month's 1 percent rise. The services production index rose 0.8 percent in December, compared with a 1.1 percent rise in November.
The KDI said facility investment receded further as transport equipment partially improved.
The facility investment index dipped 14.5 percent in December, following the previous month's 9.3 percent decrease.
The KDI also said the South Korean economy could grow 2.5 percent in 2019 and exports could rise 2.2 percent as they remain subdued throughout the second half due to the decline in global trade volume, citing its recent survey of 21 economic experts.
The South Korean economy expanded 2.7 percent on-year in 2018, the slowest pace in six years, as shrinking corporate investment weighed heavily on Asia's fourth-largest economy. (Yonhap)