According to South Korea's state-run economic think tank,... the country's economy may be slowing down even further... due to waning demand and exports.<br />Our Choi Si-young, with the details. <br />The Korea Development Institute says the country's economic slowdown is further "deepening"... according to its latest monthly report released Sunday.<br />The think tank has repeatedly mentioned the slowdown over the past five months,... but this is the first time it said the trend was "worsening".<br />But, KDI made it clear... that this doesn't necessarily indicate a more serious downturn.<br />The slowdown has been attributed to decreasing exports and low domestic demand.<br /> Total exports in March dropped eight-point-two percent on-year,... while retail sales growth in the months of January and February... fell three-point-two percentage points compared to a year earlier.<br />Declines in facilities investment and industrial production also compounded the slowdown.<br />Facilities investment in February tumbled twenty-seven percent on-year,... while mining production also fell by almost three percent,... with construction down eleven percent.<br />In the report, the Institute said the number of newly employed workers in February,... numbering around three-hundred-thousand for the biggest increase in a year,... is largely owed to the government's job-creation efforts.<br /> KDI says the country's financial market is stable overall, but said the equity markets were down... due to the sluggish global economy and other external factors.<br /><br />Choi Si-young, Arirang News. <br />
