South Korea's auto exports reduced in the first half amid the Japanese yen's weakness against the U.S. dollar that damaged price competitiveness of domestic automakers, a government report showed Tuesday.

Automobile exports by South Korea's five carmakers fell 6.7 percent from a year earlier to 1,587,273 units for the first six months of this year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE).

The persistent weak yen trend along with a rise in production in overseas plants contributed to the fall in auto exports, the ministry said.

By region, exports to the United States, the largest export destination for local automakers, maintained its growth trend, but those to the Eastern Europe, Latin America and Asia declined due to the economic slowdown and an increase in auto production in overseas factories.

Auto production in the country decreased 4.3 percent to 2,279, 790 vehicles in the first half due to weak export demand and lack of weekend overtime works.

Domestic sales decreased 0.8 percent to 751,310 units over the same period due to the persistent weakness of domestic demand.

The ministry forecast that exports and production of automobiles would increase in the second half on the back of the expected normalization of the weekend overtime works and the low base effect. Endi

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