Anchor: South Korea’s industrial production growth slowed to its weakest pace in five years in 2025, while consumer spending rebounded into positive territory for the first time in four years.
Yun Sohyang has more. 

Report: South Korea’s industrial production growth marked its smallest increase in five years in 2025 amid the lingering fallout from the 2024 martial law declaration.

According to the Ministry of Data and Statistics’ Monthly Industrial Statistics report released Friday, the nation’s industrial production index increased zero-point-five percent in 2025 from the previous year to 114-point-two.

Manufacturing and mining output grew one-point-six percent from the previous year, supported by growth in semiconductor production.

Semiconductor output surged thirteen-point-two percent, and production of ships and other transportation equipment jumped nearly twenty-four percent, leading overall industrial growth.

Consumer spending showed a modest recovery.

The retail sales index rose zero-point-five percent in 2025, reversing three consecutive years of contraction and turning positive for the first time in four years.

Facility investment advanced one-point-seven percent on-year, supported by increased spending on transportation equipment, including automobiles, and machinery such as semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

In contrast, construction activity weakened sharply.  

Construction investment fell sixteen-point-two percent from a year earlier, with both building and civil engineering work declining.

It was the steepest fall since construction statistics were first compiled in 1998, exceeding the decline seen during the global financial crisis.

Lee Doo-won, director of economic trend statistics at the Ministry of Statistics and Data, said last year confirmed a virtuous cycle driven by semiconductors, with growth extending beyond production to semiconductor-related parts and machinery wholesale and retail, service-sector output, and facility investment.

He added that the construction sector acted as a drag on the economy, noting that while recovery signals were clearly visible in the data, downside risks remained in parts of the construction industry, resulting in uneven conditions across sectors in 2025.
Yun Sohyang, KBS World Radio News.