Korea's economy grows 0.6% in Q2, matching initial estimate: BOK

In the second quarter, South Korea's economy expanded by 0.6 percent compared to the previous quarter, as reported by the Bank of Korea (BOK). This growth was fueled by robust exports and investments tied to artificial intelligence (AI). The country's real gross domestic product (GDP), a critical indicator of economic performance, increased by 0.6 percent in the April-June period from the preceding three months, based on preliminary figures provided by the BOK.

Annually, the economy grew by 3.7 percent during the second quarter, indicating continued growth momentum following a 3.8 percent increase in the first quarter. The BOK had initially forecast a 0.6 percent growth increase but later adjusted it upward by 0.1 percentage points for construction investment and intellectual property investment, while reducing government consumption growth by the same amount.

On a nominal basis, South Korea's GDP rose by 9.2 percent in the three-month period ending in June compared to the preceding quarter and expanded by 26.4 percent from the previous year, marking the most significant growth since the third quarter of 1979, when the economy surged by 27.7 percent.