Industry Trends
In April 2025, Korea’s total industrial production fell for the first time in three months (down 0.8 percent month-on-month and down 0.4 percent year-on-year), as both mining and manufacturing (down 0.9 percent month-on-month and up 4.9 percent year-on-year) and services (down 0.1 percent month-on-month and up 0.7 percent year-on-year) production shrank due to the base effect of two consecutive months of sharp increases.
| Subject | All industries | Mining & manufacturing |
Service | Retail sales | Capital investment |
Construction completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ‘Apr. 2025 | △0.8 | △0.9 | △0.1 | △0.9 | ∆0.4 | △0.7 |
In April, mining and manufacturing declined, affected by the impact of US tariffs on automobiles and the base effect of a sharp increase in semiconductor production in the previous month. The service industry saw an increase in production in the wholesale and retail trade and accommodation and food services sectors, but decreased in the finance and insurance, and professional, scientific, and technical services sectors, primarily due to a decline in stock trading and architectural design orders. Retail sales shrank as sales of durable goods (communication devices and computers), semi-durable goods (clothing), and non-durable goods (pharmaceuticals and books) all declined. Capital investment decreased fell slightly even as more investment was made in transportation equipment such as automobiles and aircraft, due to sluggish investment in machinery such as semiconductor manufacturing machinery. Construction completed fell slightly as civil engineering increased and building construction decreased. Despite a decrease in construction completed, the cyclical change in the coincident index rose, driven by increases in the number of employed persons and mining and manufacturing production. Even as stock prices fell, the cyclical change in the leading index increased thanks to increases in domestic shipments of machinery and cycle inventory.
In April, Korea’s industrial activities adjusted from the base effect of seeing sharp increases for two consecutive months, while domestic demand remained sluggish in areas such as consumption and construction. The government will make every effort to respond to trade risks and revitalize domestic demand.
※ Source: Ministry of Economy and Finance(moef.go.kr)
Trends by Industry
- Automotive
-
‘Domestic Sales Started Growing as Rapid Approval of EV Subsidies Drove the Sales of EVs’
→ Despite increased demand for domestically produced vehicles, particularly hybrids, exports remained flat in March as a slowdown in overseas production of finished vehicles dampened demand for parts. In February, domestic sales increased by 12.9 percent year-on-year as swift approval of EV subsidies pushed the sales of EVs. Production in February grew by 14.6 percent year-on-year as domestic sales and exports all turned to growth.
- Shipbuilding
-
‘Production Indices Saw a Big Jump’
→ Production in February fell by 3.7 percent month-on-month, but increased sharply by 44.6 percent year-on-year. Exports in March increased by 51.6 percent year-on-year to approximately USD 3.2 billion as more high-value-added ships such as LNG carriers and large container ships were delivered. February imports increased by 2.2 percent year-on-year due to expanded imports of ship parts and shipbuilding materials. Global ship orders for the first two months of 2025 decreased by 65.4 percent year-on-year across most ship types, including tankers, bulk carriers, and gas carriers, while only the container ship segment saw a 44.2 percent increase.
- General machinery
-
‘Production Started Falling as Both Domestic and Export Markets Remained Weak’
→ In February, production increased by 4.4 percent year-on-year, driven by strong domestic demand and capital investment. In March, exports fell by 3.5 percent year-on-year as Washington’s imposition of tariffs added uncertainty to the global economy. In February, imports increased by 8.6 percent year-on-year as domestic demand recovered and capital investment increased
- Steel
-
‘Exports Fell Further due to Weak Unit Prices, while Production Continued to Shrink’
→ In February, steel production decreased by 7.2 percent year-on-year even as exports to ASEAN countries increased, affected by sluggish domestic demand and inventory adjustments by steel companies. Even as export volume maintained the same level as a year ago, March exports shrank by 10.6 percent year-on-year due to falling export unit prices. In February, imports decreased by 15.1 percent year-on-year as slow domestic demand weakened demand and anti-dumping lawsuits and rising prices of imported goods slashed import volume.
- Oil refining
-
‘Exports Plunged by 28.1 percent Year-on-Year as Unit Prices and Volume Decreased Together’
→ February production shrank by 5.8 percent year-on-year due to reduced operating rates and regular maintenance. March exports decreased by approximately USD 1.3 billion year-on-year as unit prices fell and volume continued decreasing due to expanded regular maintenance.
- Wireless communication devices
-
‘March Exports Increased by 13.8 percent Year-on-Year Driven by an Increase in High-Value-Added Parts and Strong Sales of New Products’
→March exports grew by 13.8 percent year-on-year, driven by rising global demand for AI smartphones and increased exports of domestically-produced high-value-added smartphone components required for these devices. February production rose by 14.0 percent year-on-year and shipments grew by 12.0 percent as well, leading to a significant 30.5 percent jump in the operating rate, while inventory fell by 6.9 percent. February imports rose slightly by 1.5 percent year-on-year, driven by a big jump in imports of smartphones by 35.8 percent, which was offset by sharp declines in components and wireless transmitters.
- Semiconductor
-
‘Strong Exports Continued’
→ In March, exports returned to growth after one month to increase by 11.9 percent year-on-year and reach USD 13.1 billion, continuing the strong performance of semiconductor exports. The semiconductor production index for February maintaining its upward trend and stood at 157.3, an increase of 11.6 percent year-on-year and 0.7 percent month-on-month.
- Display
-
‘The Adoption of AI Tech in Products Enabled the Recovery of Exports Despite Falling OLED Panel Unit Prices’
→ Exports in March increased by 2.9 percent year-on-year as major customers adopted AI in their products. The production index for February was 62.3, up 0.8 percent year-on-year and 9.1 percent month-on-month.
* Please note that the latest data available in Statistics Korea are for the previous month in the case of exports and the month prior to the previous one for production.
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코로나19 발생 이후 대부분의 고용 관심사가 항공 및 여행서비스, 음식·숙박 서비스 등 주로 서비스 업종에 집중된 상황에서 본 연구는 최근 그 중요성이 강조되고 있는 제조업의 고용변화를 살펴보았다. 분석에 따르면, 코로나19 이후 제조업 고용은 비교적 큰 충격 없이 빠르게 회복하는 모습을 보이고 있다. 제조업 고용은 서비스업에 비해 큰 충격 없이 유지되고 있고, 코로나19 직후 2020년 상반기에 약간 하락하였지만 하반기부터 회복 추세를 보이고 있으며, OECD 주요국의 제조업과 비교하여도 일본과 함께 고용 충격이 비교적 작게 나타나고 있다. 그러나 전반적으로 양호한 고용 성적에도 불구하고 제조업 내 특성 별로는 차이가 나타나는 것으로 보인다. 종사상 지위 별로 보면, 임시·일용직, 고용원이 있는 자영업자에서 고용 충격이 상대적으로 크게 나타났고, 상용직과 고용원이 없는 자영업자는 큰 충격이 없는 것으로 나타났다. 제조업 규모별로는 300인 이상의 경우 코로나 발생 초기 약간의 충격 이후 고용이 빠르게 반등하면서 코로나 이전보다 고용이 더 증가한 반면, 이보다 작은 규모의 제조업체들의 경우 고용 회복이 더디게 나타나고 있다. 고용의 중장기, 단기 추세선을 비교한 결과 제조업 업종에 따른 차이를 보였다. 코로나 발생 이전 3년간의 추세선을 2020년 1월부터 연장한 선과, 2020년 1월부터의 실제 자료를 이용한 단기 추세선을 비교한 결과, 의약품은 코로나19 발생 이전부터 시작하여 코로나19 발생 이후에도 견조한 증가세를 유지하고 있으며, 전자부품·컴퓨터, 기타운송장비, 가구는 코로나19 이후 오히려 고용 추세가 개선되었다. 그러나 다수 업종은 코로나 발생 이후 고용이 하락하였는데, 특히, 비금속광물, 1차금속, 금속가공 분야나 인쇄·기록매체 업종에서 하락이 상대적으로 크게 나타났다.
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