South Korea's economy grows at its strongest pace in nearly four years

VTV.vn - The Korean economy in the third quarter of 2025 achieved its highest growth rate in nearly four years thanks to strong exports and improved private consumption.

View of a cargo port in Busan (South Korea). (Photo: THX/TTXVN)

Statistics released by the Bank of Korea (BoK) on December 3 showed that real gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter of 2025 increased by 1.3% compared to the previous quarter and was 0.1% higher than the previous estimate.

The BoK said this was the highest quarterly growth since the fourth quarter of 2021, when the South Korean economy grew 1.6%. This was also a sharp increase of 0.7 percentage points compared to the second quarter and exceeded the BoK's previous forecast of 1.1%.

Compared to the same period last year, the South Korean economy grew 1.8% in the third quarter of 2025, a strong recovery compared to the 0.6% growth recorded in the second quarter of 2025.

South Korea’s GDP growth unexpectedly slowed to 0.2% in the first quarter of 2025 due to the domestic political crisis stemming from the declaration of martial law by former President Yoon Suk Yeol and growing uncertainties from the comprehensive US tariffs. These factors affected consumer sentiment and exports, which are the backbone of the economy.

However, the South Korean economy has regained growth momentum thanks to government stimulus measures and strong export performance, especially in the semiconductor sector.

In its latest outlook released last week, the BoK raised its growth forecast for 2025 by 0.1 percentage point to 1% and forecast 2026 growth at 1.8%.

With a more optimistic growth forecast, the Bank of Korea (BOK) recently kept the base interest rate unchanged at 2.5% for the fourth consecutive meeting since July 2025. The Bank of Korea (BOK) believes that keeping the base interest rate unchanged at the current level is appropriate in the context of high consumer prices, continued growth recovery mainly due to consumption and exports, and ongoing risks to financial stability.

Source: https://vtv.vn/kinh-te-han-quoc-tang-truong-manh-nhat-trong-gan-4-nam-100251203160731287.htm