Semiconductor and automobile production jumped by 35.1% and 6.5%, respectively, which together hold a 30% weighting in the overall industrial output index.
Output shrank 7.6% from the same month a year earlier, according to Statistics Korea, which was also milder than 8.0% in the previous month and 10.1% expected by economists.
The data came after first-quarter gross domestic product figures released earlier this week, which showed the South Korean economy barely averted a recession by posting slim growth. (Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Sonali Paul)