By Kim Yon-se
Staff Reporter
The majority of Korean people believe their living standards have dipped to the worst level not seen in the past four years.

Additionally, many of them regard the current economic conditions as the worst in six years since the 1997-98 financial crisis, the Bank of Korea (BOK) reported Wednesday.

In the third-quarter survey of 2,302 households in 30 major cities nationwide, the BOK found the consumer survey index (CSI), which measures the current living standards, fell to 67, from 69 a quarter ago, the lowest in 45 months since 66 was reported in the last quarter of 2000.

A CSI reading below 100 indicates pessimists outnumber optimists in consumer sentiment.

According to the central bank, the index stayed at below 100 for the eighth consecutive quarter (24 months) after it recorded 100 in the third quarter of 2002, right after the 2002 World Cup finals.

Notably, the CSI for the current economic conditions fell to 41 during the third quarter of the year, the lowest since it posted an all-time low of 27 in the fourth quarter of 1998.

The BOK said, in addition to the unhappy sentiment on current living standards, a number of Korean consumers do not expect their living standards to improve in the next six months and show concern over looming inflation.

The CSI, which gauges expectations for living standards for the coming six months, stood at a 45-month low, tying with the figure of 80 during the second quarter of the year.

Amid a variety of uncertainties, the CSI outlook for household income improvement over the next year also fell to a 45-month low of 87, down from 90 in the previous quarter.

BOK economists are worried over a prolonged slump of domestic demand amid the frozen consumer sentiment, saying, ``The worsened sentiment in almost all sectors might have been affected by the soaring oil prices, a high jobless rate and ongoing household debt.’’

Alongside the worsening sentiment, the portion of households planning to buy cars in the next six months stayed at 3 percent, with the percentage of households planning to buy real estate posting at 6 percent.

Consumer sentiment has worsened the most among the high-income earning households with a monthly income of more than 3 million won and low-income earning households with less than 1 million won, according to the BOK.

kys@koreatimes.co.kr