September production 0.3% ↓ retail sales 0.4% ↓...Turning downward in a month

Construction industry 0.1% ↓…'Backward' for 5 consecutive months
Retail Sales 0.4% ↓…Sales of 'food and clothing' decrease
Impact of Chinese Tourists Declining...Duty Free Sales 9.2% ↓
Facility investment increased by 8.4%...Semiconductor manufacturing machine 79.2% ↑

[Anchor]
In September, production and consumption turned downward for the first time in a month.

The accompanying composite, which shows the current economy, has not rebounded for seven months due to weak retail sales and construction investment.

Reporter Oh In-seok on the report.

[Reporter]
Production fell 0.3% in September from a month earlier, with fewer mining, services and construction industries.

Semiconductor production fell 2.6%, mining industry production rose 0.2% and services production increased wholesale and retail, but health and social welfare declined 0.7%.

The construction industry has been backpedaling for five months.

Retail sales, an indicator of goods consumption, fell 0.4% due to lower sales of food and beverage and clothing.

After a 1.7% increase in August, it turned downward again in a month.

Duty-free sales fell 9.2% due to a decrease in Chinese tourists.

Facility investment rose 8.4% as investment in equipment for semiconductor manufacturing increased significantly.

Overall in the third quarter, overall industrial production fell 0.2% quarter-on-quarter and retail sales fell 0.5%, respectively.

Retail sales continued to decline for the third quarter.

Facility investment increased by more than 10%, while construction investment decreased by 4.2%.

[Kong Mi-sook / Statistics Korea Economic Trend Statistics Director: Construction capability (construction investment) is still decreasing, but orders are increasing sharply for the second consecutive quarter, so will construction capability recover in the future? Because construction orders are a leading indicator...]

The cyclical fluctuation of the accompanying index, which shows current economic trends, has fallen, failing to rebound for the seventh month.

The government has determined that internal and external uncertainties are increasing and downside risks to the economy are growing.

It said it is also paying attention to external uncertainties such as the U.S. presidential election, the situation in the Middle East, and the main industry, as well as small business difficulties, household debt and real estate PF risks.

Accordingly, in order to recover domestic demand, we will further strengthen customized support for vulnerable sectors such as construction investment and small business owners.

This is YTN Oh In-seok.

Reporter for shooting
: Jeong Chul-woo
Video editing: Jung Kook-yoon
Design: Lee Na-eun