Major South Korean companies saw their overseas sales tumble nearly 20 percent in second quarter of the year during the coronavirus pandemic, data showed.

Combined overseas sales of the country’s top 100 firms by revenue totaled 146.3 trillion won ($123 billion) in the April-June period, down 19.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Federation of Korean Industries.

The tumble marks a sharp turnaround from the first quarter, when their sales edged up 0.65 percent on-year to 170.4 trillion won as the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak was limited to China and the rest of Asia.

Companies in three key industries - electrics and electronics, autos and auto parts, and energy and chemicals - were hit particularly hard. (Yonhap)