S. Korea's exports and investment remain sluggish: Finance Ministry

정부 "생산 완만한 증가…수출•투자 부진한 흐름 지속"Finance Ministry's latest economic report shows that one of the main reasons for Korea's exports and investment are down... is slower growth of the global economy, including in China.Ko Roonhee has more. South Korea's overall industrial production is showing a modest increase...but exports and investment remain sluggish.This is the latest assessment of Korea's economy by the Finance Ministry on Friday.According to the monthly greenbook report for June, the South Korean government has been using the word 'sluggish' for three consecutive months. As for why, the ministry pointed to uncertainties abroad, such as slower global economic growth, the struggling semiconductor industry, and the U.S.-China trade spat. The biggest hit came from exports... which made up a whopping 44-percent of Korea's total GDP last year. Data shows that Korea's exports dropped by more than 9-percent on year in May... and have been on the slide for six consecutive months. Exports to China, which account for around a quarter of Korea's total exports, dropped by more than 20-percent in May.This is related to the slower growth of Beijing's economy. Korea's Finance Ministry pointed out that Purchasing Managers' Index dropped in China last month.The index, which is an indicator of economic health in the manufacturing and service sectors, fell to 49-point-4 in May from 50-point-1 in the previous month. Other than exports, construction investment in Korea fell by almost 3-percent on month in April... and retail sales also dropped slightly during the same period due to poor sales of durable goods such as passenger cars. On a brighter note, overall industrial production increased for two consecutive months in April... thanks to improving figures in manufacturing and service sectors. To turn things around, the Finance Ministry again stressed the importance of the National Assembly quickly passing the supplementary budget bill.The ministry also vowed to actively come up with measures to boost main indicators such as exports, and include them in the economic policy direction for the second half of 2019.Ko Roon-hee, Arirang News.