The country's factory utilization rate has recorded the lowest level since the Asian financial crisis for the second year in a row.

Data by Statistics Korea showed the average capacity utilization ratio of factories stood at 72.8 percent in the January to September period, unchanged from the same period last year.

It is the lowest reading since the 66.8 percent tallied in 1998 when the country was reeling from the economic meltdown.

The depressing figures are causing worries as the number is a key barometer of manufacturing output and directly impacts the economic health of countries that depend heavily on the production of goods to generate growth.■