Economic Bulletin | KDI 경제교육·정보센터

KDI 경제교육·정보센터

Economic Information and Education Center

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Economic Trends

Current Economic Trends

In March, industrial production, facilities investment, and retail sales increased, while constructioninvestment decreased. In April, the increase in the number of employed persons slowed, whileconsumer prices accelerated on a month-on-month basis. In March, total industrial production rose (up 0.3% m-o-m and up 3.5% y-o-y), as gains in the industrialsector (up 0.3% and up 3.6%) and services sector (up 1.4% and up 5.1%) outweighed a decline inconstruction (down 7.3% and down 5.4%). The cyclical indicator of the coincident composite index for March went up by 0.5 points and the cyclicalindicator of the leading composite index increased by 0.7 points. In March, facilities investment moved up (up 1.5% m-o-m and up 9.2% y-o-y) and retail sales increased (up1.8% and up 5.0%). In April, the consumer sentiment index (CSI) went down by 7.8 points month-on-month to 99.2. Thecomposite business sentiment index (CBSI) grew by 0.8 points to 94.9 and the CBSI outlook for Mayincreased by 0.8 points to 93.9. In April, exports climbed by 48.0% year-on-year, supported by expanded exports of semiconductor,computers, and ships. Average daily exports rose by 48.0% in April compared to the same month of lastyear. In April, the number of employed persons grew by 74,000 from a year earlier, while the unemploymentrate remained unchanged at 2.9%. The year-on-year consumer price index (CPI) climbed by 2.6 percent, up from 2.2 percent in April, whilethe index excluding food and energy rose by 2.2 percent, the index excluding agricultural products andpetroleum products rose by 2.2 percent, and the CPI for living necessities increased by 2.9%. In April, stock prices rose, Korean Treasury Bond yields increased, and the Korean won strengthened. In April, both housing prices (up 0.16%, m-o-m) and Jeonse (lump-sum deposits with no monthlypayments) prices (up 0.31%, m-o-m) continued to climb. Recently, the Korean economy has maintained its recovery momentum, with growth expandingsignificantly in the first quarter; however, downside risks to the economy persist due to the conflict inthe Middle East. Exports, led by semiconductors, have remained strong, and domestic demand, including consumption,had continued to improve. However, the Middle East conflict has weighed on consumer sentiment, raisingconcerns about higher inflation driven by rising global oil prices and increasing burdens on households. The global economy has maintained a moderate growth trend; however, the conflict in the Middle Easthas heightened volatility in international financial markets and energy prices, raising concerns over supplychain disruptions, mounting inflationary pressures, and a slowdown in growth. To minimize the impact of the Middle East conflict, the government will maintain an emergency economicresponse framework, while swiftly implementing the supplementary budget including support paymentsfor damages caused by high oil prices and making every effort to stabilize livelihoods through supply？demand management of key items and price stabilization measures. * For further details, please refer to the attached file.

Jun 2026