Construction industry to remain sluggish due to rising costs: Budget Office

[Photo by MK DB]

South Korea’s construction sector is projected to remain weak due to soaring costs, a report showed on Sunday.

According to the 2024 Economic Outlook report released by the National Assembly Budget Office (NABO), construction activity in Korea is estimated to decline by 2.5 percent this year from last year amid the industry’s loan restructuring efforts, higher prices of intermediate goods, and weak leading indicators.

Construction investment is projected to fall by 2.4 percent in the first half of this year from the same period a year ago and by 2.6 percent in the second half.

NABO called for a swift execution of the government’s social overhead capital (SOC) projects to mitigate the downturn.