Korea's economy barely grows in Q3 as export struggles persist

Korea’s economy remained almost flat in the third quarter, inching up by 0.1 percent, following a 0.2 percent contraction in the previous quarter.

Containers for exports are stacked at a port in the southeastern city of Busan on April 1. [NEWS1

Korea’s economy remained almost flat in the third quarter, inching up by 0.1 percent, following a 0.2 percent contraction in the previous quarter.

The sluggish growth was primarily driven by a slowdown in exports. Facility investment and private consumption saw an upturn in the third quarter, while construction investments continued to weigh down growth.

According to advance estimates from the Bank of Korea (BOK) on Thursday, the country’s real GDP grew by 0.1 percent from the previous quarter in the third quarter.

On a yearly basis, GDP expanded by 1.5 percent compared to the same period a year earlier.

Korea’s economy saw strong 1.3 percent growth in the first quarter of this year, after posting a 0.1 percent contraction in the second quarter, the first quarterly decline since the fourth quarter of 2022.

The BOK revised its growth projection for this year from the previous 2.5 percent to 2.4 percent in August, the second revision this year after raising the forecast by 0.4 percentage points from 2.1 percent in May.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]