The seasonally-adjusted production in all industries, which exclude the agriculture, forestry and fishery industry, fell 1.1 percent in April from a month earlier, according to Statistics Korea.
It was the highest reduction in 11 months since May last year. The industrial output advanced 2.0 percent in February and 0.9 percent in March respectively.
Output in the mining and manufacturing industry contracted 1.6 percent in April on a monthly basis. Production in the manufacturing sector diminished 1.7 percent last month.
It was mainly attributable to the high base effect. The production index for the chip-making sector hit a record high in March, leading to a 10.9 percent drop in production among chipmakers in April compared to the prior month.
From a year earlier, production among chipmakers surged 30.0 percent in April.
Output in the machinery equipment, the communication and broadcasting equipment, and the electrical equipment rose 5.3 percent, 12.0 percent and 1.9 percent each in April from a month earlier.
Expectations mounted for South Korea's economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic shock amid the recovery in global demand.
Export, which accounts for about half of the export-driven economy, surged 41.1 percent in April from a year earlier, marking the fastest increase in over 10 years since January 2011.
For the first 20 days of May, the outbound shipment spiked 53.3 percent compared to the same period of last year.
The country's central bank revised up its 2021 economic growth outlook by 1.0 percentage point to 4.0 percent last week, indicating a possible policy rate hike later this year depending on economic situations.
The Bank of Korea (BOK) has left its key rate unchanged at an all-time low of 0.50 percent since May last year.
Production in the services industry gained 0.4 percent in April from a month earlier, after expanding 1.1 percent in February and 1.3 percent in March respectively.
Output in the wholesale and retail, and the eatery and lodging segments, which had been roiled by the pandemic, went up 0.8 percent and 3.1 percent each last month thanks to the launch of mass vaccinations in late February.
Retail sale, which reflects private consumption, picked up 2.3 percent in April on a monthly basis, after growing 2.3 percent in the previous month.
Consumer sentiment improved in recent months amid the ongoing inoculation campaign that increased the outside activity and the demand for non-durable goods, such as cosmetics, and semi-durables including clothing.
Revenue by department stores and duty-free shops soared in double digits in April from a month ago, and revenue for convenient stores rose 8.0 percent. Discount outlets recorded a 1.2-percent slide in revenue last month.
Facility investment climbed 3.5 percent, but completed construction shrank 0.8 percent last month.
The cyclical variation factor for leading economic indicators, which gauges outlook for the future economic situation, added 0.4 points over the month to 103.6 in April. It kept an upward trend for 11 months in a row.
The reading for coincident economic indicator, which measures the current economic conditions, gained 1.1 points to 101.3 last month.
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