Korea’s real gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 1.8 percent in the first quarter of 2010 compared with the previous quarter, this was a 7.8 percent increase on a year-on-year basis, the highest rate in seven years, reported the JoongAng Daily.
According to the Bank of Korea, growth exceeded its earlier forecast of 7.5 percent.
The last time the Korean economy saw such exceptional quarterly growth was the fourth quarter of 2002, when it expanded 8.1 percent year-on-year.
“We have edged closer to a sustainable economic growth path,” said Kim Myeong-ki, head of the BOK’s economic statistics department.
“While exports contributed the most, thanks to improvements in the government and private sector, the economy is steadily recovering.”
Although the good growth was partially due to a sharp slump in the first quarter of 2009, buoyant exports and growing investment and consumer spending also had a big impact.
- Exports grew 21.3 percent and imports were up 22.1 percent from a year earlier.
- Manufacturing posted 20 percent growth, largely thanks to brisk sales of electronics products including semiconductors.
- Manufacturers saw their biggest growth in nearly a decade, from the 20.6 percent growth of the third quarter of 2000.
- Consumer spending was up 9.5 percent, the biggest increase in nearly a decade, when spending surged 11.4 percent in the second quarter of 2000.
- Investments on equipment and plants surged 28.8 percent, the sharpest growth since the third quarter of 2002, when it was up 29.9 percent.
The good growth is expected to ease Korea’s high unemployment rate. After hitting a 10-year high of 5 percent in January, the unemployment rate has slowly subsided. In February the unemployment rate was 4.9 percent and in March it fell to 4.1 percent.
Download the original Bank of Korea report here.
(Source: JoongAng Daily, Bank of Korea)
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