South Korea’s economy is chugging along on the strength of exports of chips, but the path ahead appears rocky with numerous warning signs. The surprise interest rate cut by the country’s central bank last week is also interpreted as a sign for a worse-than-expected economic slowdown.

According to government data, Korea’s exports posted on-year growth for the 14th straight month in November. Exports went up 1.4 percent on-year to $56.3 billion last month and imports declined 2.4 percent to $50.7 billion over the same period, resulting in a trade surplus of $5.61 billion -- a surplus that extended for 18 consecutive months.

The continued trade surplus means, if anything, that exports led by memory chips end up shoring up the Korean economy, even though domestic demand shows no signs of a meaningful recovery.

Of course, it should be noted that exports of semiconductors soared 30.8 percent to reach $12.5 billion, setting a fresh monthly record for chip exports. But the semiconductor business tends to fluctuate in tandem with cyclical changes in demand and supply, so if demand weakens significantly, Korea's trade figures are bound to suffer unless other export sectors increase their exports to make up for the decrease.

Therein lies the rub. For export-dependent Korea, the outlook appears increasingly worrisome as US President-elect Donald Trump, even before inauguration, is threatening to impose higher tariffs on imported goods.

The imminent tariff war to be initiated by Trump has sent Korea’s policymakers scrambling to find ways to minimize the new trade terms’ negative impact on key export items like chips and cars. But experts warn that it will be difficult for the country to avoid strong headwinds in its export drive if many countries are forced to join a messy trade battle with retaliatory tariffs.

Aside from concerns over trade, the country’s key economic indicators released Friday showed that industrial output, retail sales and facility investment all retreated in October -- a development that is called “triple decrease” here.

According to data compiled by Statistics Korea, the country’s industrial production went down 0.3 percent last month, marking the second monthly decrease in a row. Retail sales, a key barometer of private spending, also edged down 0.4 percent from a month earlier. Facility investment tumbled 5.8 percent from the previous month, hurt by a deeper slump in the construction sector.

What worries policymakers is the ongoing slump in the construction industry, whose conditions are closely tracked in connection with the overall economic activity and investment. In October, the output of the construction sector posted on-month drops for six straight months, while construction orders plummeted nearly 12 percent from a year earlier.

The Finance Ministry said the government plans to make efforts to revitalize the economy but specific measures are yet to be fleshed out, especially concerning challenges related to the incoming US administration.

Perhaps, the Bank of Korea’s unexpected interest cut might help the Korean economy to better grapple with the looming challenges. The central bank slashed its benchmark interest rate for a second consecutive session Thursday, demonstrating its policy focus on giving a fresh momentum to the country’s economy.

But the central bank said its latest decision on the interest rates reflected concerns about a decline in the export volume in the third quarter of this year. The BOK said that Korea’s export is expected to maintain a growth trend in line with the increase in AI investment around the world, but the pace will slow down due to China’s advance in technology and the protectionist policy of the US.

Given the negative outlook, the Korean government must draw up more specific policy initiatives aimed at boosting domestic demand and work closely with opposition parties to pass the long-delayed bills related to trade, business and technology.