[THE INVESTOR]South Korean car sales dwindled this year despite consumption tax cuts, industry data showed on June 29.

South Korean and foreign carmakers sold a combined 637,369 units in the first five months of this year, up 8.3 percent from 588,541 units from the same period in 2015, according to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association and the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association.

It reflected a slowdown from the September to December period in 2015 when a total of 594,457 passengers cars were sold to show a 19.1 percent rise from a year earlier. The growth is attributed in part to tax cuts the government introduced in August 2015 for cars and large household appliances. It lasted until Dec. 31.

But after seeing a decline in consumption, the government revived the tax cuts on cars in February this year, scheduled to last until the end of this month.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)