South Korea's major manufacturers are more upbeat about their business outlook for the second quarter than in the previous quarter, but still downbeat due to economic uncertainties, a survey showed Tuesday.

The business survey index outlook for the April-June period came to 97, up from 83 tallied in the first quarter, according to the survey by the Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry of the country's 2,428 firms.

The rise marks the first positive change in a year, as the index had been trending down after an on-quarter increase last seen in the second quarter of 2014.

Despite the better outlook, businesses still remained concerned in general, as a BSI reading of under 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists.

"The second-quarter prospects have improved, but the figure is still under the standard 100-level and so it is difficult to say that business conditions have begun to recover," said Jeon Soo-bong, an executive director at KCCI.

By sector, the sub indices for exports demonstrated a brighter outlook with a reading of 105, while that for domestic demand, despite an on-quarter increase, remained somewhat gloomy at 95, according to the survey. (Yonhap)