Key facts
- South Korea's nominal GDP grew 9.2% in Q2 from the previous quarter.
- Nominal GDP expanded 26.4% year-on-year in Q2, the fastest growth since Q3 1979.
- Real GDP grew 0.6% quarter-on-quarter and 3.7% year-on-year in Q2.
- Exports increased 1.3% from the previous quarter, supported by semiconductor demand.
- Per capita gross national income (GNI) rose 8.8% nominally quarter-on-quarter and 26.4% year-on-year.
South Korea's nominal gross domestic product (GDP) experienced its most significant growth in 47 years during the second quarter, fueled by robust exports and investments linked to artificial intelligence, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).
Real GDP, a key indicator of economic expansion, rose by 0.6 percent from the previous quarter. This figure aligns with the BOK's earlier estimate, with minor upward revisions to construction and intellectual property investment, and a slight downward revision to government consumption.
The nation's economy, the fourth-largest in Asia, had previously contracted by 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter of last year before rebounding with 1.8 percent growth in the first quarter. On an annual basis, the economy grew 3.7 percent in the second quarter, continuing its growth momentum from a 3.8 percent year-on-year expansion in the first quarter.
Exports saw a 1.3 percent increase compared to the prior quarter, bolstered by strong global demand for semiconductors and related equipment, though this represented a slowdown from the 5.9 percent surge in the first quarter. Facility investment grew by 0.2 percent, and intellectual property investment increased by 3.4 percent, while construction investment saw a marginal decline of 0.1 percent. Private consumption grew by 0.4 percent, and government spending rose by 0.1 percent.
Nominally, the country's GDP surged 9.2 percent in the three months ending in June compared to the preceding quarter. Year-on-year, it expanded by 26.4 percent, marking the most substantial growth since the third quarter of 1979, when the economy grew by 27.7 percent.
Additionally, the BOK data indicated that South Korea's per capita gross national income (GNI) increased by 8.8 percent nominally from the previous quarter and by 26.4 percent from a year earlier. Real GNI saw a 3.1 percent rise quarter-on-quarter and a 15.6 percent increase year-on-year, representing the steepest growth since the fourth quarter of 1988.