Biz sentiment deteriorates for Dec. amid pandemic: poll

South Korea's business sentiment deteriorated for December due to raw materials and parts supply disruptions from China in the manufacturing sector, a local think tank said Tuesday.

The business survey index (BSI) of the country's top 600 companies by sales fell to 100.3 for next month, down from 100.6 for November, the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) said in a statement.

The business outlook stayed above 100 for a fourth straight month. The actual BSI stood at 102.2 in November, up from 98.3 a month earlier.  

A reading above 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists, while a figure below the benchmark means the opposite.

"The recent urea solution shortages clearly show the country's heavy dependence on China in terms of raw materials and parts. The country needs to diversify its import sources for urea solution and other materials," KERI said.

KERI said 369 of the 600 companies responded to the survey, which was taken from Nov. 10-17.  

KERI is the research arm of the Federation of Korean Industries, or South Korea's top business lobby for family-controlled conglomerates. (Yonhap)