South Korean business sentiment weakened across two separate measures, with small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) optimism declining in October and manufacturing sentiment falling sharply in September. The Korea Federation of SMEs (KBIZ) said its Small Business Health Index (SBHI) fell 1.5 points from September to 83.3, based on 3,073 companies, after rising for two consecutive months. Separately, the Bank of Korea said manufacturing Composite Business Sentiment Index (CBSI) declined 4.3 points to 99.5 in September, its largest fall in four years, reversing five months of gains. Strikes, fewer working days during the Chuseok holiday and Middle East-related risks weakened manufacturing, while non-manufacturing sentiment improved. Weak sales remained SMEs' leading business difficulty, followed by raw-material costs, competition and labor expenses.