SEOUL, June 30 (Xinhua) -- A majority of South Korean companies showed a pessimistic view about business conditions in the coming month, the Federation of Korean industry (FKI) said on Sunday.

According to the FKI survey, which investigated South Korea's 600 largest companies in June, the monthly business survey index --a measure of firms' overall sense of economic outlook -- was 83.2for July, the lowest since January 2005.

A reading below 100 means that the number of companies having negative view about the economy exceeds those with a positive expectation.

"Besides rising costs of raw materials, companies are expecting external economic conditions to remain unfavorable for the time being," the federation said in a statement.

The survey's results is another indicator showing that the South Korean economy, Asia's fourth-largest, is on a downward path.