A state think tank said on Sunday that South Korea's economy shows signs of deteriorating as the negative impact from the COVID-19 pandemic has spread across all business sectors.
 
The Korea Development Institute (KDI) presented the assessment in its monthly economic trends publication, saying that that the Korean economy is fast contracting as the negative impact of COVID-19 spreads across all industries.
 
In the first two months of the year, the KDI said the economic slowdown was easing, but dropped the expression and assessed the economy was contracting for four straight months since March when the coronavirus was spreading in earnest.
 
The country's overall industrial production plunged five percent on-month in April, the largest drop since the 2009 global financial crisis.
 
Retail sales dropped two-point-two percent on-year in April, while output in the services sector slipped six-point-one percent from a year earlier.
 
The KDI said that May's exports continued to rapidly decrease as external uncertainties mount on intensifying political and economic tensions between the United States and China.