SEJONG-- Service output increased in all 16 provinces and major cities of South Korea in the second quarter of the year amid eased coronavirus curbs, data showed Thursday.

The country's service output rose 5.4 percent in the April-June period from a year earlier, led by the hospitality, transport, arts and leisure sectors, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.

Of the 16 provinces and cities, the southernmost resort island of Jeju posted the highest on-year gain with 11.2 percent, followed by Incheon, 27 kilometers west of Seoul, with 7.7 percent and Gyeonggi Province surrounding Seoul with 6.9 percent.

Service output in the capital Seoul -- home to about one-fifth of the country's 52 million population -- increased 4.9 percent on-year in the second quarter.

The second-quarter expansion came as people's economic activity increased amid relaxed social distancing rules put in place to fight the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile, retail sales, a gauge of private spending, rose in three cities and provinces -- the central city of Daejeon, Incheon and South Gyeongsang Province -- with the remaining 13 declining.

Bolstered by strong sales at specialty and department stores, retail sales rose 3.3 percent in the central city of Daejeon, 2.6 percent in Incheon and 1.6 percent in South Gyeongsang.

Seoul suffered a 1.4 percent on-year decrease in retail sales, and Busan, South Korea's second-largest city, posted a 0.4 percent drop due to decreased sales at large discount stores.

Source: Yonhap News Agency