SEOUL, (Pakistan Point News - 09th Jun, 2026) The Republic of Korea's economy grew at its fastest pace in more than five years in the first quarter, supported by strong exports and solid domestic demand, central bank data showed on Tuesday.
The real gross domestic product (GDP) rose 1.8 percent in the January-March period from the previous quarter, 0.1 percentage point higher than the earlier estimate, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).
The reading marked the strongest quarterly growth since the third quarter of 2020, when the economy expanded 2.3 percent, Yonhap news Agency reported.
On a yearly basis, the economy expanded 3.8 percent in the first quarter, a sharp pickup from the 1.6 percent growth recorded in the fourth quarter of last year. The on-year growth was the highest since the fourth quarter of 2021, when the economy grew 4.5 percent from a year earlier.
The BOK said the 0.1 percentage-point upward revision to first-quarter GDP came as updated statistics related to facility investment and private consumption were reflected in the latest figures.
The country’s economy contracted 0.1 percent on-quarter in the fourth quarter of 2025 due to sluggish manufacturing.
However, rising global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure boosted demand for semiconductors, driving exports up by 5.9 percent, the highest increase since the third quarter of 2020, while facility investment rose 6.6 percent, marking the strongest growth in four years.
