SEOUL, KOREA - Korea'scar exports marked a negative year-on-year growth last year, first in four years, with domestic car sales falling for two straight years.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy announced on January 14 that Korea’scar production reached 4,521,638 units last year, down 0.9 percent from a year ago. The nation's car production fell for two consecutive years.
The ministry blamed the decline on partial labor strikes and production workers'resistance to overtime work at weekends at major assembly plants.
The nation's car exports fell by 2.7 percent year on year to 3,086,394 units due to the uncertainty of the world economy and the delay in supply from major car makers.
This was the first time for the country to mark a decline in car exports since 2009 when the nation's car exports fell by 19.9 percent. Domestic sales also fell by 0.3 percent to 1,537,590 units.
