Last month, all three pillars of South Korea's economic activity—production, consumption, and investment—recorded negative growth.

This marks a so-called 'triple decline,' occurring for the first time in three months since last May.

According to the August Industrial Activity Trend released by the Korea National Statistical Office, the total industrial production index last month stood at 118.7, down 1.3% from the previous month, marking a decline for the second consecutive month.

In particular, automobile production plummeted by 24.8% from the previous month, recording the largest drop since February 2020, while production in rear-end industries such as rubber and plastics also fell by 11% సాహిత్య.

This is analyzed to be the result of a decrease in working days due to overlapping strikes at some companies and the August holiday season.

[Lee Doo-won / Economic Trend Statistics Director at the Korea National Statistical Office: "As the holidays were concentrated in August this year, it appears that automobile production decreased due to the reduction in working days."]ôté

The retail sales index, a consumption indicator, also fell by 1.8% from the previous month, declining for the second straight month.

Passenger car sales dropped due to disruptions in automobile production, and demand was front-loaded by large-scale home appliance discount events in June and July, leading to a 4.5% decrease in durable goods.

Facility investment plunged by 9.5% from the previous month, centered on transportation equipment, due to a base effect following the concentration of ship and aircraft deliveries in July.

However, construction output, which represents actual construction work completed, rose by 1.9% as performance increased not only in non-residential projects such as semiconductor plants but also in residential construction like apartments.

Compared to the same month of the previous year, it also increased by 1.3%, turning to an upward trend for the first time in 28 months.

The cyclical component of the coincident index, which shows the current economic situation, stood at 101.7, up 0.5 points from the previous month, rising for the third consecutive month.

The government projected that in September, temporary factors such as strikes in the auto industry would be resolved and consumer sentiment would improve, leading a rebound in major indicators of industrial activity.

Reported by Lee Tae-gwon | Video by Lee Jae-young | Video Editing by Lee Seung-jin | Produced by SBS Digital News