South Korea’s manufacturing Business Survey Index fell to 81 points in August 2026 from 82 in July, indicating a continued deterioration in business conditions. The production index edged down to 92 from 93, while the new orders index remained unchanged at 92. Meanwhile, the inventories index declined to 100 from 101, while the financial situation index improved to 82 from 81. In contrast, the manufacturing Composite Business Sentiment Index rose 0.6 points to 103.8 in August, while the index for the following month increased 2.0 points to 102.5, pointing to a modest improvement in business sentiment despite weaker current conditions. source: The Bank of Korea

Business Confidence in South Korea decreased to 81 points in August from 82 points in July of 2026. Business Confidence in South Korea averaged 78.96 points from 1991 until 2026, reaching an all time high of 119.00 points in December of 1994 and a record low of 35.00 points in March of 1998. This page provides the latest reported value for - South Korea Business Confidence - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news. South Korea Business Confidence - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on September of 2026.

Business Confidence in South Korea decreased to 81 points in August from 82 points in July of 2026. Business Confidence in South Korea is expected to be 78.00 points by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. In the long-term, the South Korea Business Confidence is projected to trend around 75.00 points in 2027 and 80.00 points in 2028, according to our econometric models.



Calendar GMT Reference Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2026-07-29 09:00 PM
Business Confidence
Jul 82 78 81
2026-08-25 09:00 PM
Business Confidence
Aug 81 82 83
2026-09-28 09:00 PM
Business Confidence
Sep 81 78


Related Last Previous Unit Reference
Business Confidence 81.00 82.00 points Aug 2026
Capacity Utilization 105.40 105.50 points Jul 2026
Car Production 352070.00 394331.00 Units Jul 2026
Car Registrations 139256.00 159684.00 Units Jul 2026
Changes in Inventories 947.90 1625.90 KRW Billion Jun 2026
Coincident Index 116.90 116.20 points Jun 2026
Composite Leading Indicator 102.87 102.81 points Aug 2026
Corruption Index 63.00 64.00 Points Dec 2025
Corruption Rank 31.00 30.00 Dec 2025
Electricity Production 21745.83 21335.44 Gigawatt-hour Jun 2026
Industrial Production YoY 3.60 6.00 percent Jul 2026
Industrial Production MoM 0.20 6.70 percent Jul 2026
Leading Economic Index 131.20 130.20 points Jul 2026
Manufacturing Production YoY 3.90 6.30 percent Jul 2026
Mining Production -2.40 4.50 percent Jul 2026
New Orders 10490641.00 15590989.00 KRW Million Jul 2026
Steel Production 5700.00 5300.00 Thousand Tonnes Jul 2026


South Korea Business Confidence
In South Korea, the Business Survey Index (BSI) in the manufacturing sector measures the level of optimism that business leaders have about the performance of the economy in the current month and their outlook for the following month. The Index is based on the survey of around 2800 companies in fifteen areas including sales, inventories, production facilities, prices, labor force and profitability. For each of the indicators measured, the net difference between the number of positive responses and the number of negative responses is computed. The BSI above 100 indicates an improving outlook and below 100 a deteriorating outlook.
Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
81.00 82.00 119.00 35.00 1991 - 2026 points Monthly
NSA

News Stream
South Korea Manufacturing Sentiment Weakens
South Korea’s manufacturing Business Survey Index fell to 81 points in August 2026 from 82 in July, indicating a continued deterioration in business conditions. The production index edged down to 92 from 93, while the new orders index remained unchanged at 92. Meanwhile, the inventories index declined to 100 from 101, while the financial situation index improved to 82 from 81. In contrast, the manufacturing Composite Business Sentiment Index rose 0.6 points to 103.8 in August, while the index for the following month increased 2.0 points to 102.5, pointing to a modest improvement in business sentiment despite weaker current conditions.
2026-08-25
South Korea Manufacturing Sentiment Improves
South Korea’s manufacturing Business Survey Index rose to 82 in July 2026 from 78 in June, signaling improved business sentiment. The production index increased to 93 from 90, while the new orders index rose to 91 from 88. Meanwhile, the inventories index edged up to 100 from 99, and the financial situation index improved to 81 from 79. The Composite Business Sentiment Index for manufacturing increased 2.0 points from the previous month to 103.2, while the outlook for the following month rose 2.3 points to 100.5.
2026-07-29
South Korea Manufacturing Confidence Eases in June
South Korea’s Business Survey Index for the manufacturing sector edged down to 79 in June 2026 from 80 in the previous month. The production index was unchanged at 90, while the new orders index rose to 88 from 87. Meanwhile, the inventories index held steady at 100, and the financial conditions index improved slightly to 80 from 79. The Composite Business Sentiment Index for manufacturing rose 0.4 points to 101.2, signaling a modest improvement in current conditions. However, the outlook for the following month weakened, with the forward-looking sentiment index falling 2.1 points to 98.2.
2026-06-24