Seoul, Sep 27 — South Korea's business sentiment improved for the fourth quarter of this year on robust exports of semiconductors and cosmetics, a survey showed on Sunday.
The business survey index (BSI) for 2,413 manufacturing companies nationwide stood at 86 for the October-December period, up 6 points from the previous quarter, according to the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI).
A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists, while a figure above the benchmark indicates the opposite, reports Yonhap news agency.
The index for the semiconductor sector posted a reading of 139 for the fourth quarter, the highest since the survey began, remaining above the benchmark for the fourth consecutive quarter.
The index for the cosmetics sector rose 20 points to 120, while that for the medical and precision equipment sector gained 28 points to 108.
Despite improving business sentiment, 60.4 percent of companies expected their operating profits this year to fall short of targets set at the beginning of the year, mainly due to higher production costs driven by elevated raw material and energy prices.
Meanwhile, South Korea's spy agency has detected more than 100 cases of industrial technology leaks overseas over the past five years, with semiconductors accounting for nearly 40 percent of the total, data showed.
According to data submitted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources to the National Assembly, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) detected 107 cases of overseas industrial technology leaks between 2021 and 2025.
Semiconductor technologies accounted for the largest share with 40 cases, followed by display technologies with 21 cases, and electrical and electronics technologies with 10 cases.
Seven cases involved automotive technologies, while six involved shipbuilding technologies.
Of the 107 cases, 31 involved national core technologies, which the government designates as critical to national security and the economy due to their technological and economic value or growth potential, the NIS data showed.
Semiconductors also accounted for the largest share of leaks involving national core technologies, with nine cases, followed by displays and electrical and electronics technologies, with five cases each.
One notable case involved a former Samsung Electronics manager who allegedly leaked the South Korean chipmaker's 18-nanometer DRAM manufacturing technology, designated as a national core technology, to Chinese chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies.