Seoul, Sep 30 (IANS): Confidence among South Korean businesses remained weak due to sluggish domestic demand that has rattled the economy in the past years, the central bank data showed on Wednesday.

The business survey index (BSI) for manufacturers stood at 68 in September, unchanged from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK), Xinhua reported.

The index, which gauges expectations for business conditions, means that pessimists outnumber optimists when it stays below 100.

The October BSI for manufacturers, which measures business outlook in the next month, came in at 70, down one point from the prior month.

The sluggish figures came on the back of the protracted weakness in domestic demand caused by the outbreak of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) earlier this year and the Sewol ferry disaster last year.

The BSI for non-manufacturers was 70 in September, unchanged from the previous month. The October BSI for non-manufacturers also made no change at 73.