South Korea's business sentiment index remained pessimistic for December due to concerns of weak domestic demand and external risks, a poll showed Tuesday.

The business survey index (BSI) for the country's top 600 companies by sales stood at 97.3 for next month, according to the monthly poll by the Federation of Korean Industries.

A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists, while a figure above the benchmark means the opposite. The index has remained below 100 for 33 consecutive months since April 2022, on par with the longest streak of 33 months between June 2018 and February 2021.

The BSI for the manufacturing industry came to 89.9 for October, while the index for nonmanufacturing was recorded at 105.1.

Among sectors in the manufacturing category, only automobiles and other transportation equipment showed positive outlooks. In the nonmanufacturing category, the information and communication sector and the construction sector were projected to experience downturns.

"With the expansion of external risks combined with sluggish domestic demand, 12 out of 17 domestic industries have reported a decline in operating profits for the third quarter of this year," an FKI official said. (Yonhap)