Business sentiment for South Korea's construction industry fell to the lowest level in 16 months in May due to a weak housing market, a poll showed Wednesday.

The construction business survey index came to 78.5 last month, down 7.1 points from the previous month and 16.1 points from a year earlier, according to the survey by the Construction and Economy Research Institute of Korea.


This is the lowest mark in 16 months, except for the offseason of January this year.

A reading hovering above 100 indicates that builders optimistic about the current state of the construction industry outnumber those with pessimistic views.

"The drop came after the index rose for the third consecutive month since February," the institute said. "Large builders' weak housing business was also responsible."

The CBSI for large builders clocked in at 83.3 in May, down 16.7 points from a month earlier and leading the drop in last month's index. The figure for mid-sized players came to 85.3, up 1.5 points from the previous month, with the index for smaller firms dipping 5.6 points on-month to 65.2.

According to the findings, the CBSI outlook for June amounted to 77.7, down 0.8 point from the performance index for May. (Yonhap)