Persistent Caution

The composite business sentiment indicator, which reflects companies' expectations for economic conditions in the months ahead, registered in negative territory for a second straight month. A negative reading indicates that pessimistic firms outnumber optimistic ones in their assessment of the business outlook.

The extended streak of negative readings suggests that companies see soft conditions continuing rather than expecting a near-term rebound, based on the sentiment data cited in the claim.

Background Uncertainty

The claim itself is limited to the two-month streak of negative sentiment; no specific index values, sector-level breakdowns, or comparisons with prior periods were provided. Details such as which survey produced the figure, the exact score, or how sentiment varies across industries like semiconductors and IT services remain unconfirmed in the available material.

Whether the trend extends further or reverses in coming months is not addressed by the current data.

Business sentiment among Korean firms has now been negative for two months in a row, and the claim is True.