A survey shows that South Korean manufacturers are expecting business will slow down in the fourth quarter.  
 
According to a survey by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry(KCCI) on Thursday, the business survey index(BSI) for the October to December period among around two-thousand-200 manufacturers across the country was tallied to be 85, down by nine points from the previous quarter.
 
The BSI measured by the KCCI stood at 68 in the first quarter, but surged to 89 in the second quarter and 94 in the third quarter.
 
Manufacturers’ BSI measures corporate confidence in the manufacturing sector. A figure of more than 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists. 
 
The decline is attributed to heightened geopolitical tensions on the Korean Peninsula driven by North Korea’s nuclear and missile provocations, as well as growing trade protectionism across the world among other things.