Economic Bulletin, December 2025
Current Economic Trends
Overview
In September, services production, facilities investment, and construction investment increased, while industrial production and retail sales declined. In October, the number of employed persons increased and consumer price rose at a faster pace.
In September, total production went up (up 1.0% m-o-m and up 6.7% y-o-y), driven by increases in the construction sector (up 11.4% m-o-m and down 4.3% y-o-y) and services sector (up 1.8% m-o-m and up 6.2% y-o-y), despite a decline in the industrial sector (down 1.2% m-o-m and up 11.6% y-o-y).
In September, facilities investment increased (up 12.7% m-o-m and up 12.8% y-o-y), while retail sales decreased (down 0.1% m-o-m and up 2.2% y-o-y).
In October, exports grew by 3.6 percent year-on-year, supported by a strong performance in the semiconductor industry. Average daily exports rose by 14.0 percent compared to the same month of previous year.
In October, the Consumer Sentiment Index (CSI) fell by 0.3 points month-on-month to 109.8. The Composite Business Sentiment Index (CBSI) dropped by 1.0 points to 90.6 in October, and the CBSI outlook for November rose by 2.6 points to 91.1.
In September, the cyclical indicator of the coincident composite index rose by 0.2 points and the cyclical indicator of the leading composite index climbed by 0.1 point.
In October, the number of employed persons grew by 193,000 compared to the previous year and the unemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage point to 2.2 percent from the previous year.
In October, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) climbed by 2.4 percent year-on-year, driven by agricultural products and petroleum prices. The index when excluding food and energy prices grew by 2.2 percent from a year ago.
In October, Korean equity prices climbed, Korean Treasury Bond yields rose, and the Korean Won weakened against the dollar.
In October, housing prices rose (up 0.29% m-o-m), and Jeonse (lump-sum deposits with no monthly payments) prices also rose (0.18% m-o-m).
Recently, the Korean economy has shown signs of recovery, supported by improvements in domestic demand – particularly consumption – and strong performance in the semiconductor sector, indicating an economic rebound from the weakness seen in the first half of the year.
However, employment challenges persist, mainly in vulnerable sectors, and uncertainties remain owing to the pace of recovery in construction investment and the impact of U.S. tariff measures.
The global economy continues to face volatility in global financial markets and concerns over slowing trade and growth, due in part to a deteriorating trade environment following tariff measures by major economies.
The government plans to strengthen policy efforts, including boosting domestic demand, to ensure that future growth momentum spreads across sectors, while making every effort to expand growth potential through initiatives such as the AI Transformation, Ultra-Innovative Economy flagship projects, and Productive Finance.
