S. Korean: In 2024, revenues of construction enterprises decline for the first time in four years

S. Korean: According to official statistics released on Tuesday, South Korean construction enterprises had their first decline in four years in 2024 as a result of a protracted industry-wide downturn.

According to statistics from the Ministry of statistics and Statistics, local builders’ combined sales last year came to 487.7 trillion won ($331.67 billion), a 3.8% decrease from the year before, according to Yonhap news agency.

It was the first drop since the COVID-19 epidemic struck the nation in 2020.

In comparison, the number increased by 12.3% in 2022 and 9.9% in 2023.

Overseas sales increased 17.1% to 48.4 trillion won, while domestic sales fell 5.6% year over year to 439.3 trillion won.

There were 89,101 construction companies in the nation in year, an increase of 1.4% from the year before.

General construction businesses totaled 15,861, down 0.3 per cent from a year earlier, with that of specialty builders climbing 1.7 per cent on-year to 73,240.

However, their total employment fell to 1.76 million in 2024, a 2.8% annual decline.

The added value of the construction sector was 143.2 trillion won last year, a 5.2% decrease from the year before.

Additionally, the report revealed that last year, local builders’ building expenditures decreased 2.6% to 477.7 trillion won.

The building industry saw a decline as finance and construction prices climbed in tandem with inflation, and risks associated with project financing and unsold dwellings escalated, especially in slow non-metropolitan real estate markets.

Meanwhile, the South Korean economy is displaying steady recovery in industrial output, powered by the expansion of domestic consumption, despite the persistent weakness of the construction industry, a state-run research tank stated.

The Korea Development Institute (KDI) said in its monthly economic assessment report that “consumption continued to improve as the effects of interest rate cuts gradually took hold, supported by government policies, even though the construction sector has remained weak for an extended period.”