Dec. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Sales at major South Korean department stores fell last month for the first time since February 2009, a sign that the European crisis is beginning to damp private consumption.

Outlays at the three biggest chains fell 0.5 percent from a year earlier, following a 3.1 percent gain in October, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said in a statement today. Discount-store sales dropped 0.5 percent, today’s report showed.

--Editors: Lily Nonomiya, Paul Panckhurst

To contact the reporter on this story: Eunkyung Seo in Seoul at eseo3@bloomberg.net;

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Paul Panckhurst at ppanckhurst@bloomberg.net