South Korea Industrial Output Rises Most in 6 Years
2026-07-30 23:08
By
Chusnul Chotimah
1 min. read
South Korea’s industrial production grew 6.4% month-on-month in June 2026, rebounding from a downwardly revised 2.9% decline in May, which was the steepest drop in seven months, and exceeding forecasts of a 3% rise.
It was also the first increase in industrial production in three months and the strongest growth since June 2020, boosted by a sharp rebound in manufacturing (6.8% vs -3.2% in May), led by the automobile industry.
Manufacturing production recovered for both domestic (3.7% vs -5.1%) and overseas (5.0% vs -3.2%) demand.
Meanwhile, services activity rose at a slower pace of 0.7%, following a 1.0% increase in the previous month.
On an annual basis, industrial production jumped 5.8% in June, above expectations of 2.5%, marking the strongest growth since February and rebounding from an upwardly revised 1.1% decline in May, which was the first decline in three months.
For the second quarter of the year, industrial output grew 2.9% yoy, unchanged from the first quarter.