The seasonally adjusted reading in November industrial output was compared with a median 0.4 percent gain tipped in a Reuters survey of 12 analysts. Individual forecasts in the survey ranged from a 1.4 percent drop to a 1.8 percent rise.
The reading for October was revised up to a 2.1 percent rise from a 1.8 percent gain reported earlier, according to Statistics Korea.
From a year earlier, November's industrial output fell by 1.3 percent following a revised 3.3 percent rise in October. The median forecast from the Reuters poll was a 0.2 percent drop for November.
South Korea's manufacturing output is highly dependent on exports, as the country is home to some of the world's biggest suppliers of cars, ships and smartphones. November exports grew 0.2 percent from a year earlier, slowing from a 7.2 percent rise in October.
Output for the service sector rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.1 percent in November from a month earlier, following a revised 0.4 percent rise in October.