The Korea Development Institute says the Korean economy has been stagnating in recent months, due to a slowdown in investment and exports.
Hong Yoo reports on its trend report for July.
South Korea's state-run think tank has, for the fourth month in a row, described the country's economy as "stagnant".
In its economic trend report for July, the Korea Development Institute said there has been improvement in consumption... but a slowdown in investment and exports has caused the local economy to stagnate.
Exports dipped 13-point-5 percent on-month in June, a larger decrease than the 9-point-5 percent drop in April.
The largest fall was observed in the semiconductor sector, which saw exports plummet in June on shrinking overseas demand and a fall in price.
Capital investment also fell, showing a growth rate of minus 11-point-5 percent due to a slump in machinery.
Industry production saw a narrow growth of 1-point-0 percent on-year in May due to service sector production growth with two extra operation days in May but a slower growth in mining and industrial sector production.
Retail sales in May were 1-point-4 percent higher than the previous month due to the rapid growth of foreign tourists.
Regarding the labor market, the Korea Development Institute said the employment policies of the government have continuously increased the number of employed and in May the number increased by 250-thousand on-year.
Hong Yoo, Arirang News.