South Korea's industrial output is expected to move up 3.7 percent on year in February, compared with a 1.7 percent growth tallied a month earlier, according to an estimate by an international ratings agency on Sunday.

Stronger global demand for electronics is likely to boost the nation's industrial production last month, Moody's Investor Service said in a statement.

"We expect industrial production to have expanded 3.7 percent y/y in February, up from January's 1.7 percent y/y gain," the ratings agency said.

"The release of new Apple and Samsung smartphones in the coming months is supporting demand for components, which will likely outperform other areas," it said.

However, the ouster of former President Park Geun-hye over a corruption and influence-peddling scandal and a snap election in May to pick the next president are likely to increase uncertainty in the near term, Moody's said.

In the first 20 days of this month, South Korea's exports jumped 14.8 percent on year, customs data showed last week.

The total outbound shipments reached $27.3 billion during the 20-day period, up from $23.8 billion tallied over the same period last year, according to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service.

South Korea is scheduled to release the February industrial output on Friday. (Yonhap)