South Korean small merchants' business confidence took a turn for the better for November on hopes that relaxed anti-coronavirus restrictions may boost their sales, a poll showed Monday.

The Small Enterprise and Market Service said its business survey index (BSI) for small merchants came to a 10-month high of 87.6 this month, up 9.5 points from the previous month.

November marks the third straight month that the small merchants' BSI has climbed from the prior month.

Despite the increase that was attributed to a government decision to ease pandemic restrictions, the reading remains well below the benchmark.

A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists. The survey of 2,400 small merchants nationwide was taken from Oct. 18-22.

The findings showed the BSI for traditional markets standing at 88.7 in November, up 15.7 points from a month earlier and the highest level in 11 months.

The survey also showed the small merchants' actual BSI for October coming to 62.5, up 4.9 points from September and an 11-month high.

South Korea on Monday implemented its first step to get back to normal life on the back of a rising vaccination rate at over 75 percent. (Yonhap)