South Korea's PMI declined in October.

VTV.vn - Manufacturing activity in South Korea, Asia's fourth-largest economy, continued to decline in October, reflecting cautious business sentiment.

US President Donald Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung signed an agreement limiting tariffs on South Korean cars and parts to 15%.

Manufacturing activity in South Korea, Asia's fourth-largest economy , continued to decline in October, reflecting cautious business sentiment amid global trade uncertainties stemming from US tariff policies.

According to S&P Global, South Korea's manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 49.4 in October, down from 50.7 in September. This marks the eighth month in the last nine months to see a decline in manufacturing activity. Factories reported a sharp drop in new orders, particularly from the US market, as new tariff measures impacted exports. The new orders index fell to 47.6, while production stood at 49.5. Despite rising input costs, businesses are trying to pass some of the burden on to customers. Last week, US President Donald Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung signed an agreement limiting tariffs on South Korean automobiles and components to 15%.

However, according to data from the Korean Ministry of Statistics and Data, from January to September 2025, the index of investment in general infrastructure across all sectors increased by 4.3% year-on-year. This is the largest increase since 2021, when the figure rose by 11.3% year-on-year.

This growth stems from increased investment in the automotive and chip industries. Investment in automotive infrastructure surged 15.6% year-on-year, marking the largest increase in 25 years since 2000. The automotive industry has been expanding its investments to build electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing facilities and enhance its future competitiveness in autonomous driving and artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

Investment in semiconductor manufacturing equipment increased by 15.7%, the largest increase since 2021. Experts attribute this growth to the completion of inventory adjustments for memory chips and the industry entering what is being called a hyper-growth cycle, driven by the shift in AI models.

Source: https://vtv.vn/pmi-thang-10-cua-han-quoc-sut-giam-100251103184456487.htm