South Korea’s business sentiment improved in August as manufacturing remained strong and service- sector conditions recovered, with the Bank of Korea’s (BOK) all-industry Composite Business Sentiment Index (CBSI) rising 1.1 points to 99.6. Manufacturing CBSI increased 0.6 points to 103.8, while non-manufacturing sentiment rose 1.5 points to 96.7. The BOK’s broader Economic Sentiment Index, which combines business and consumer surveys, climbed 1.5 points to 99.4.

The improvement remained uneven. Sentiment among exporters rose to 108.5, while the index for domestic-oriented manufacturers fell to 99.4. Small- and Medium-sized Enterprise sentiment rose to 99.8, while large-company sentiment declined to 103.7. Weak domestic