Korea's Q1 GDP grows 1.7%, nearly double forecast on surging chip exports

Despite risks stemming from the Middle East war, Korea's economy grew at its fastest pace in more than five years in the first quarter, lifted by a semiconductor export boom, central bank data showed Thursday. According to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK), real gross domestic product (GDP) rose 1.7 percent in the January–March period from the previous quarter, nearly double the bank's forecast of 0.9 percent. It marked the strongest quarterly expansion since the third quarter of 2020 when the economy expanded 2.2 percent. The economy shrank 0.2 percent in the first quarter of 2025, then rebounded with growth of 0.7 percent and 1.3 percent in the next two quarters, before slipping back into a 0.2 percent decline in the fourth quarter amid weak facilities investment and a slowdown in construction. Manufacturing and exports — particularly semiconductors — accounted for the bulk of this year's first-quarter growth. Facilities investment, including spending on chip equipment, jumped 4.8 percent, while private consumption rose 0.5 percent and government spending edged up 0.1

Go to News Site