SEOUL, December 16 (AJP) - South Korea’s construction industry recorded its sharpest revenue decline since 1999 last year, as weak domestic demand weighed heavily on the sector, official data showed on Tuesday.
According to the 2025 Construction Industry Survey released by the National Data Agency, industry revenue fell 3.8 percent from a year earlier to 487.7 trillion won. It marked the largest annual contraction in more than two decades.
The downturn was most pronounced in the domestic market, where revenue slid 5.6 percent to 439.3 trillion won. In contrast, overseas construction revenue rose 17.1 percent to 48.4 trillion won, offering limited relief to the overall industry.
Construction costs and value added also posted their steepest declines since 1999. Total construction costs fell 2.6 percent to 477.7 trillion won, while value added dropped 5.2 percent to 143.2 trillion won.
Employment in the sector continued to shrink, with the number of construction workers down 2.8 percent to 1.76 million. Employment in general construction fell 3.9 percent to 1.129 million, while specialized construction employment declined 1 percent to 629,000.
Despite the contraction, the number of registered construction companies increased 1.4 percent from a year earlier to 89,101.
“The impact of the construction market downturn is becoming increasingly evident, with key indicators pointing to a very difficult situation since last year,” the National Data Agency said in a press release.
* This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP.
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