Domestic orders won by local construction companies dropped 28 percent in the first half of the year from a year earlier, industry data showed Tuesday, underscoring a prolonged slump in the country’s construction sector.

The builders bagged a combined 39.15 trillion won ($35.12 billion) worth of domestic orders in the January-June period, according to the data compiled by the Construction Association of Korea.

The data indicates that domestic orders for the full year of 2013 won by local builders will fall below the 100 trillion-won mark, the lowest level of domestic orders since the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.

In June alone, local construction firms clinched a combined 8.83 trillion won worth of domestic orders, also down 33 percent from a year earlier, marking a on-year decline for the 11th straight month, according to the association.

Orders from the public sector dropped 15 percent on-year to 3.38 trillion won in June while those from the private sector dipped 41 percent to 5.45 trillion won over the cited period, according to CAK.

The association called June’s performance a shock and urged the government to commitment to reviving the construction industry. (Yonhap News)