BOK lifts S. Korea's growth outlook to 3.3 pct for 2026 on strong chip exports

The Bank of Korea (BOK) has upgraded its economic growth forecast for South Korea to 3.3 percent for 2026, citing robust semiconductor exports fueled by persistent demand for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. This marks a 0.7 percentage-point increase from the bank's previous projection of 2.6 percent, announced in May.

The central bank's growth outlook has been raised twice since it initially predicted a 2 percent growth rate in February. For 2027, the BOK now anticipates a 2.9 percent growth rate, up from the previous estimate of 2.1 percent, which was issued in May.

South Korea's economy expanded by 1.8 percent in the first quarter of the year, marking the strongest quarterly growth since the third quarter of 2020, when the economy expanded by 2.2 percent. The second quarter saw the Asia's fourth-largest economy expand by 0.6 percent, significantly outpacing the BOK's May forecast of 0.2 percent growth.

In light of these positive economic indicators, the government had previously projected a 3 percent growth rate for 2026.