The country's semiconductor inventory rose to its highest level in nearly 26 years in January, amid a slump in global chip demand.

According to data by Statistics Korea on Sunday, the inventory-to-sales ratio of the country's chipmakers came to 265-point-seven percent in January, the highest since March 1997.

The ratio is a measurement of the amount of chip inventory compared to sales, with a higher ratio indicating the slump in the chip industry is feared to continue for a while.

Separately, factory shipments plunged 25-point-eight percent on-month in January, while chip stockpiles soared 28 percent in January from a month earlier.

Exports of semiconductors, the country's main export item, declined for the seventh consecutive month, with the country's exports falling for the fifth straight month in February.