Korea's export performance has been impacted heavily by the European economic woes.

According to a report by the LG Economic Research Institute on Sunday, the country's exports grew mere 0.9 percent from January to April, far less than those of main rivals China (6.9 percent), Singapore (5.3 percent), Indonesia (4.1 percent) and Japan (3.3 percent). Korea's export increase was even lower than the EU's 1 percent.

The only countries whose export performances fell behind Korea were Thailand (-3.4 percent) and Taiwan (-4.9 percent).

"Growth in China slowed due to the slump in the European market. This in turn has hit Korea as China accounts for a quarter of Korea's exports such as capital goods and components," the institute said.

It forecast it would take about a year until the export slowdown is resolved. "Future export conditions may not be favorable even compared to the global financial crisis," said Yoon Sang-ha at the institute.