The state-run Korea Development Institute (KDI) said that it is seeing more indicators suggesting that the economy has hit bottom.

The KDI presented the assessment in its monthly economic report on Sunday, citing that the decline in semiconductor exports has slowed and the sluggishness in exports to China has somewhat eased.

The KDI said that the economy is in a state of stagnation, particularly in the manufacturing sector, but indicators suggesting the economy has hit bottom are increasing.

Following last month’s evaluation that the rapid decline in the economy has calmed down somewhat, the latest diagnosis appears to have put more weight on the possibility of improvement.

Regarding the current economy, the KDI evaluated that the economic slump seems to have "not deepened."

Exports continued to be sluggish, falling 15-point-two percent in May, but the decrease in the amount of chip exports slowed from a fall of 41 percent in April to a drop of 36-point-two percent in May.

The fall in exports to China also slowed steadily from a 33-point-one percent drop in March to a decline of 20-point-eight percent in May.