South Korea's major manufacturers are still pessimistic about business conditions for the fourth quarter of this year due to China's slowing growth and growing protectionism, a poll showed Thursday.

The Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry said its business survey index for the October-December period came to 86, slightly up from 85 tallied in the previous quarter.

The result is based on a survey of 2,400 manufacturing companies nationwide. A reading of under 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists.

"They are still worrying about future economic directions, given a slowdown in China and a letup in the recovery of exports," said the KCCI.

According to the KCCI survey, the sub-index for exporters came to 85 for the current quarter, down from 92 in the previous quarter.

The survey result came as Asia's fourth-largest economy is still faced with growing uncertainties at home and abroad.

For one, South Korea's exports fell 5.9 percent from a year earlier in September, backtracking from a 2.6-percent gain the previous month, while the current account surplus hit the lowest in four months in August.

Earlier in the day, the country's finance ministry said it plans to pour an additional 10 trillion won ($8.98 billion) into helping the economy get on a firm recovery path. (Yonhap)