Ministry of Finance and Economy

In April 2026, overall industrial production, facilities investment, and retail sales decreased.   Production fell across mining and manufacturing (-0.7% m-o-m, +1.5% y-o-y), services (-1.0%, +3.5%), and construction (-1.4%, -5.5%), resulting in a decline in overall industrial production (-0.6%, +2.4%).   Facilities investment moved down (-3.6% m-o-m, +8.1% y-o-y) and retail sales decreased (-3.6%, +1.6%).   Exports in May 2026 climbed by 53.2% year-on-year, supported by expanded exports of semiconductor, computers, and ships. Average daily exports rose by 60.7% in May compared to the same month of last year.   The consumer sentiment index (CSI) in May went up by 6.9 points month-on-month to 106.1. The composite business sentiment index (CBSI) grew by 4.0 points to 98.9 and the CBSI outlook for June increased by 3.7 points to 97.6.   The cyclical indicator of the coincident composite index for April went up by 0.2 points and the cyclical indicator of the leading composite index increased by 0.6 points.   In May, the number of employed persons fell, while consumer price growth accelerated from the previous month.   The number of employed persons went down by 40,000 from a year earlier, while the unemployment rate increased by 0.1%p to 2.9%.   The year-on-year consumer price index (CPI) climbed by 3.1% (2.6% in March → 3.1% in April), while the index excluding food and energy rose by 2.5%, the index excluding agricultural products and petroleum products rose by 2.5%, and the CPI for living necessities increased by 3.3%.   In May, stock prices rose, Korean Treasury Bond yields increased, and the Korean won weakened.   In April, both housing prices (+0.16%, m-o-m) and Jeonse[1] prices (+0.31%, m-o-m) continued to climb.   Recently, the Korean economy has maintained its recovery momentum, supported by robust exports and improvements in private consumption and business sentiment. However, concerns remain over pressures on livelihoods, including rising prices and slowing employment growth, amid persistent uncertainties stemming from developments such as the conflict in the Middle East.   The global economy has continued to grow at a moderate pace; however, the conflict in the Middle East has heightened volatility in international financial markets and energy prices, raising concerns over supply chain disruptions, mounting inflationary pressures, and a slowdown in growth.   To minimize the impact of the Middle East conflict, the government will continue operating its emergency economic response framework, expedite the execution of the supplementary budget – including financial support for those affected by high energy prices – and take all necessary measures to stabilize livelihoods through close monitoring of key commodity supplies and prices. [1] lump-sum deposits with no monthly payments Key Statistics Employment   2025 2026 Annual May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Number of employed  (million) 28.77 29.20 29.09 29.03 28.97 29.15 29.04 29.05 28.21 27.99 28.41 28.79 28.96 29.16 Employment rate  (%) 62.9 63.8 63.6 63.4 63.3 63.7 63.4 63.4 61.5 61.0 61.8 62.7 63.0 63.3 (Seasonally adjusted)  62.9 62.9 62.8 62.8 62.8 63.1 62.9 62.9 62.7 62.8 63.0 63.0 62.7 62.5 Consumer Price Index                                                                                          (%)                                                                                                    2025                                           2026 Jan Feb Mar  Apr    May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May y-o-y 2.2 2.0 2.1 2.1 1.9 2.2 2.1 1.7 2.1 2.4 2.4 2.3 2.0 2.0 2.2 2.6 3.1 m-o-m 0.7 0.3 0.2 0.1 -0.1 0.0 0.2 -0.1 0.5 0.3 -0.2 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.5 0.5   Retail Sales (Percentage change from the previous period, %)     2024                                                        2025                                             2026 Annual Q1 Q2 Q3  Q4  Annual Q1 Q2  Q3  Q4        Q1¹      Apr¹      Jan       Feb¹      Mar¹ Retail sales -1.9 -1.2 -0.7 0.4 -0.6 0.3 0.6 -0.6 1.2 0.6 2.4 2.8 -0.4 1.9 -3.6 (y-o-y) - -1.5 -3.0 -1.4  -1.8 - -0.8 -0.1 1.6 0.9 3.3 0.5 4.2 5.0 1.6 1. Preliminary Facility Investment Index (Percentage change from the previous period, %)                                                                  2024                                           2025                                     2026 Annual Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4   Annual        Q1       Q2       Q3        Q4      Q1¹     Apr¹     Jan      Feb    Mar¹ Facility investment index 3.0 -3.0 0.4 6.0 1.8       1.2 -2.2 0.3 0.6 -3.8 13.0 5.0 15.0 1.7 -3.6 (y-o-y) - -1.5 -3.4 11.4 5.6    - 5.4 5.5 1.2 -6.2 9.8 13.6 6.5 9.8 8.1 1. Preliminary    Construction Completed  (Percentage change from the previous period, %)                                           2024                                            2025                                         2026   Annual      Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4    Annual       Q1       Q2      Q3      Q4  Q1¹  Apr¹     Jan      Feb Mar¹ Construction Completed (Constant) -4.6 4.5 -5.5 -4.6 -4.6    -16.5 -7.2 -2.6 -0.8 -4.1 0.4 -7.8 11.1 -6.1 -1.4 (y-o-y) - 4.1 -3.1 -9.9 -9.5       - -21.1 -17.3 -11.9 -15.1 -6.2 -7.0 -5.9 -5.8 -5.5 1. Preliminary Exports and Imports  (US$ billion, y-o-y, %)   2024 2025                                           2026 Annual         Q3         Q4  Annual  Q1   Q2   Q3 Q4      Jan     Feb     Mar     Apr    May Exports 683.61 173.65 175.15 709.33 159.53 175.13 184.89 189.78 65.84 67.56 87.21 85.87 87.75 (y-o-y, %) 8.1 10.5 4.2 3.8 -2.3 2.1 6.5 8.4 33.9 29.2 50.2 48.0 53.2 Average daily exports 2.53 2.53 2.56 2.64 2.49 2.63 2.59 2.85 2.80 3.55 3.77 3.58 4.28 Imports 631.77 160.00 159.92 631.90 152.84 154.40 162.49 162.16 57.11 51.95 60.39 62.11 60.80 (y-o-y, %) -1.6 6.2 0.9 -0.0 -1.3 -1.8 1.5 1.4 11.6 7.5 13.2 16.7 20.8 Average daily imports 2.34 2.34 2.33 2.35 2.39 2.32 2.27 2.44 2.43 2.73 2.63 2.59 2.97 Industrial Production (Mining, Manufacturing, Electricity and Gas Production)                 (Percentage change from the previous period, %)  2024                                              2025                2026 Annual Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4     Annual Q1 Q2 Q3     Q4 Q1¹ Apr¹ Total Production2 m-o-m, q-o-q - -0.6 1.7 -0.1 1.9 - 0.7 1.0 1.5 -3.4 2.7 -0.7 y-o-y 4.1 5.1 5.0 2.4 3.8 2.8 2.9 3.1 7.8 -2.0 2.8 1.5 Manufacturing Production m-o-m, q-o-q - -0.5 1.8 -0.3 2.2 - 0.8 0.9 1.4 -3.3 3.0 -0.8 y-o-y 4.3 5.6 5.1 2.2 4.1 3.0 2.8 3.5 8.1 -1.9 3.0 1.6 Shipments (m-o-m, q-o-q) - -2.8 1.8 -1.0 0.2 - -0.3 1.2 0.4 -2.0 2.3 -3.6 Inventory3 (m-o-m, q-o-q) - -2.1 -0.5 0.1 -0.5 - -3.0 0.0 0.8 0.4 -0.4 1.7 Production capacity (y-o-y) 0.8 1.1 1.0 0.6 1.0 2.3 2.0 2.5 2.9 1.8 0.8 0.5 Average operation ratio4 72.6 72.4 73.3 72.1 72.5 72.6 72.9 72.9 73.1 71.4 73.4 73.7   1. Preliminary   2. Mining, Manufacturing, Electricity and Gas Production   3. End-point (month, quarter, and year)   4. Average operation ratio for the month (or quarter)    Service Output            (Percentage change from the previous period, %)                                                  2024                                                 2025                                                   2026  Annual  Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4    Annual Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1¹ Apr¹ Jan Feb Mar¹ Service output 1.1  0.3 0.0      -0.2       1.1       2.0 0.3  0.4 0.7 1.2 1.4 -0.2 0.5 1.5 -1.0     1. Preliminary Composite Indices of Coincident and Leading Indicators                                                                                            (Points)             2025                                         2026 Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar¹ Apr¹ Cyclical indicator of coincident composite index 99.6 99.6 99.8 99.8 99.4 99.2 99.0 99.0 99.6 100.0 100.5 m-o-m (points) 0.2 0.0 0.2 0.0 -0.4 -0.2 -0.2 0.0 0.6 0.4 0.2 Cyclical indicator of leading composite index 100.0 100.5 100.9 100.9 100.9 101.1 101.6 102.2 102.8 103.5 104.1 m-o-m (points) 0.2 0.5 0.4 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.6 1. Preliminary   Please refer to the attached files.

On June 10, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy Koo Yun Cheol chaired the 269th Ministerial Meeting on International Economic Affairs at the Government Complex Seoul, where participants discussed the implementation of economic outcomes from summit meetings and country- and sector-specific cooperation measures for infrastructure upgrading with Middle Eastern countries.   Despite continued external uncertainties, including the prolonged tensions in the Middle East, the Korean economy has maintained a solid recovery, supported by robust exports, particularly in semiconductors, and a rebound in domestic demand. In particular, according to the preliminary data released by the Bank of Korea on June 9, both growth and income showed signs of improvement in the first quarter of this year, with real GDP growing by 1.8 percent quarter-on-quarter and nominal GDP increasing by 17.1 percent year-on-year. The government will continue to provide active support to ensure that this recovery momentum translates into greater overseas expansion by Korean companies and the creation of new growth engines.   To this end, the participants reviewed the implementation of economic cooperation outcomes achieved through summit diplomacy during the first year of the current administration and exchanged views on the direction of follow-up measures. They also developed country-specific cooperation strategies in response to ongoing economic and industrial transformation across the Middle East.   Above all, the government took stock of progress in implementing economic cooperation outcomes achieved through recent summit meetings with major partner countries. During the meeting, it was confirmed that new export items are being added in the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors on the back of expanded partnership in quarantine and sanitary measures. It was also assessed that, in the field of science and technology, follow-up consultative mechanisms and partnership plans have been progressing smoothly since the summit meetings.   In addition, the government will continue to operate an interagency monitoring mechanism to help deliver concrete outcomes from agreements reached at summit meetings. It will also proactively address any challenges arising during implementation through close cooperation among relevant ministries and agencies.   Meanwhile, the participants projected that demand for infrastructure upgrading would continue to grow as major Middle Eastern countries move beyond post-war reconstruction and pursue industrial diversification and broader economic transformation. Against this backdrop, they discussed measures to support Korean companies in leveraging these developments as new opportunities for cooperation.   Specifically, the government will identify sector-specific partnership projects in areas such as plants and energy, transportation and logistics, urban development, and digital infrastructure, tailored to the economic conditions and demand of individual countries, and actively support the participation of Korean companies in these projects.   To this end, a range of measures will be pursued, including identifying local project opportunities through overseas diplomatic missions and relevant organizations; providing integrated bidding support for Korean companies seeking contracts from major project owners in the Middle East; offering tailored financial support, including advance financing totaling USD 6 billion; promoting the establishment of a Middle East infrastructure strategic fund; and expanding high-level government exchanges and government-to-government (G2G) cooperation.   Furthermore, relevant ministries and agencies will leverage the summit diplomacy and high-level cooperation channels established with key Middle Eastern countries to help address difficulties faced by Korean companies in securing contracts and making investments. They will also provide support throughout the entire project cycle, from project identification to implementation.   DPM Koo stated that the government would work closely with relevant ministries and agencies to ensure that the cooperative foundations established through summit diplomacy lead to tangible outcomes, including the overseas expansion of Korean companies and broader economic partnership. Please refer to the attache files. 

On June 10, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy Koo Yun Cheol chaired the Expanded Meeting on Macroeconomic, Fiscal and Financial Issues at the Government Complex Seoul, attended by Minister of Planning and Budget Park Hong Geun, Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eok Won, and Bank of Korea Governor Shin Hyun Song, to review key issues in the macroeconomic, fiscal and financial sectors as well as risks in vulnerable areas and discuss policy responses.   The meeting marked an expansion of the Meeting on Macroeconomic, Fiscal and Financial Issues launched in April, with the participation of the Governor of the Bank of Korea to facilitate a comprehensive review of recent macroeconomic and financial market conditions. Going forward, the government plans to convene the expanded meeting on a flexible basis, inviting relevant agencies as needed depending on the agenda and policy issues at hand.   The participants assessed that the Korean economy has continued to maintain solid overall momentum. Nominal GDP rose by 17.1 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, marking the highest growth rate since the third quarter of 1995 (19.2 percent), supported by improved corporate earnings driven by strong semiconductor performance. The positive trend has continued into the second quarter, with exports rising by 53.2 percent from a year earlier in May to reach a record high and the current account surplus widening further. Taken together, these developments underscore the strength of the Korean economy’s fundamentals and external credibility.   The participants agreed that, given the favorable economic conditions and the resulting increase in expected government revenues, the expanded fiscal space should be utilized for forward-looking investments aimed at raising the economy’s potential growth rate. They also emphasized that fiscal policy should play an active role in addressing socioeconomic disparities and easing the burden on households arising from higher prices. In addition, they shared the view that reforms to the fiscal structure and expenditure restructuring are necessary to ensure the efficient management of public finances.   Furthermore, it was assessed that increased volatility in financial conditions could place greater strain on vulnerable sectors. Particular attention would be paid to the impact on low-income and low-credit borrowers and small business owners whose debt-servicing burdens may rise as interest rates increase; small importers and import-processing firms exposed to exchange rate fluctuations; and risks stemming from leveraged investments amid heightened stock market volatility. They also agreed to maintain close coordination among relevant agencies to safeguard livelihoods and manage potential risks.   The participants emphasized the importance of close policy coordination during periods of significant shifts in macroeconomic conditions, such as the current one, and agreed to further strengthen cooperation among relevant agencies in formulating the economic growth strategy for the second half of the year and implementing future policies. Please refer to the attached files.