Service output in Ulsan -- home to shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. and Hyundai Motor Co. -- fell 0.3 percent in the April-June period from a year earlier.

Retail sales in the southeastern industrial city declined 1.2 percent, marking the fifth straight quarter that retail sales have fallen.

The declines in service output and retail sales in Ulsan are attributable to restructuring in shipbuilding and weak demand in cars, according to the statistics agency.

Hyundai Motor sold 1.1 million cars in the second quarter, down 7.2 percent from a year earlier.

Service output and retail sales in South Korea's largest port city of Busan fell 0.3 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively, due to effects of restructuring and population decline.

It marked the fourth consecutive quarter of on-year decline in retail sales in Busan.

Meanwhile, service output in North Jeolla Province edged up 0.7 percent in the April-June period from a year earlier as the province is slowly recovering from restructuring.

GM Korea Co. and Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. shut down their plants in Gunsan, a port city in North Jeolla Province, in recent years due to lower demand.

Retail sales on the southern resort island of Jeju jumped 7.2 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier due to strong sales at duty-free stores in one of the country's most popular tourist destinations. (Yonhap)