South Korea"s factory output in April unexpectedly declined from March but logged the fastest expansion in almost three years on a year-on-year basis compared to 2020"s pandemic-impacted figures, government data showed on Monday. From March, industrial production fell by a seasonally adjusted 1.6%, the biggest contraction since May last year and missing a gain of 1.5% forecast in a Reuters survey. However, on a yearly basis, factory output surged 12.4%, the fastest growth since October 2018 as production was sluggish in the second quarter of last year because of the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.