Sales at major South Korean department stores rose last month as gift buying increased with public holidays.

Outlays at the three largest chains increased 1 percent in May from a year earlier, following a 3.4 percent decline in April, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said in a statement today. Discount-store sales dropped 5.7 percent as prices of fresh food rose and business hours of stores were shortened, today’s report said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Cynthia Kim in Seoul at ckim170@bloomberg.net

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