Korea: Manufacturing PMI expansion cooled in June

Research evidence excerpt

Korea: Manufacturing PMI expansion cooled in June

J P M O R G A N Asia Pacific Economic Research

01 July 2026

Korea: Manufacturing PMI

expansion cooled in June

Korea’s manufacturing PMI eased to 52.1 in June (JPMe 55.0), down from May’s Emerging Markets Asia, Economic

54.8. The index remained above the 50-mark for a seventh consecutive month, and Policy Research

indicating continued expansion. However, some moderation in manufacturing Jooeun Kim

activity became apparent at the quarter-end (PMI data collection period: June 11- (82-2) 758-5512

22), reflecting cumulative supply constraints in March-May. This reinforces our jooeun.kim@jpmorgan.com

view that 2Q manufacturing GDP growth likely slowed from the strong pace in 1Q JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Seoul Branch

(Figure 1). Meanwhile, the overall risk to growth is balanced, supported by

relatively upbeat activity in the non-manufacturing sector.

Figure 1: Manufacturing output - PMI vs GDP

Index %q/q saar, thru 1Q26

58 20 PMI output

54 10

50 0

46 -10

42 Manufacturing -20

output (GDP)

38 -30

17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Source: Markit, BoK, and J.P. Morgan

The headline result reflected broad-based softness across the sub components. The

output index fell to 51.9 in June after six months of gains. The future output index

was 54, fully reversing the rebound seen in May (Figure 2). The employment index

slipped into contraction territory at 49.1 after expansions in March-May. These

trends suggest that, after meeting robust 1H sales, manufacturers’ capacity appears

to have narrowed in June with post-geopolitical deal logistics conditions gradually

improving. Recent IP data also pointed to some downside risk for 2Q

manufacturing momentum.

On the demand front, the new orders index declined to 52.1 in June, after rising in