South Korea ’ s state - run think tank Korea Development Institute ( KDI ) released an assessment that uncertainties in the global economy and growth in inflation continue to expand further . “ The Korean economy faced decreases in mining and manufacturing production and investment amid growing external uncertainties and inflation rates . However , growths in consumption and exports are maintaining a status quo , ” the KDI said in a report titled ‘ KDI Economic Trends ’ released on Wednesday . “ The mining and manufacturing industry saw a slight slowdown in production in July compared to the previous month . On the other hand , the service industry continued to improve in terms of production , ” the think tank said . “ The consumption index in July implies that private consumption is continuing to recover , ” the institute added . As for employment , “ as the number of employed workers stays on track to ascend in the labor market , unemployment rates are on the decline , achieving a favorable improvement , ” the KDI said . With regard to inflation , “ consumer prices rose by 5 . 3 % in August , exceeding 4 . 7 % in the previous month , mainly due to increased growths in prices of products , ” the institute explained . “ Emerging countries are keeping their growth momentum , but major advanced countries are facing higher possibilities of economic downturns , causing uncertainties to snowball , ” the KDI said of external uncertainties . “ In advanced countries , while the housing and labor markets remained depressed , major confidence indices plunged due to escalating fears over a financial crisis , ” the institute pointed out . “ In the emerging world , the growth momentum is maintained in domestic demand and exports in spite of austerity measures to tame inflation and economic slowdowns in the advanced world . The growth of emerging countries will continue , while growth forecasts for advanced countries are being downgraded as worries over a possible fiscal crisis and sluggish employment deepen further , ” the think tank projected . [ Written by Su - hyun Song / edited by Soyoung Chung ] ▶ [ 화보 ] 김하늘 , 수영복 몸매 화제 ` 늘씬 하 네 ~`▶ 기아차 , 신형 프라이드 성능 보 니 " 와우 ! "▶ 최준희 , 12 주 만 에 80 kg 감량 화제 ▶ 써니 , “ 내게 집착 하 던 남자 연예인 있 다 ” ▶ 영정 속 웃 고 있 는 故 장효조 감독 [ 아츠 포토 ] [ ⓒ Maeil Business Newspaper & mk . co . kr , All rights reserved ]