Preliminary figures from the Bank of Korea (BOK) showed South Korea's economy grew 1.0% in the third quarter, from July to September, surpassing the central bank's August forecast of 0.3%. The growth was supported by a 2.3% rise in exports, which the BOK stated were "led by semiconductors, machinery and electrical equipment." Investment in facilities increased by 4.1%, largely due to spending on machinery used in semiconductor production.
Government figures indicated that semiconductor exports soared by 218.7% year-on-year, reaching $148 billion (€127bn) in the third quarter. On an annual basis, the economy grew by 3.4%, slightly below the 3.7% recorded in the previous quarter. Real gross domestic income (GDI), which measures purchasing power, surged by 18.8% year-on-year, marking its fastest increase in nearly 49 years, a surge supported by rising semiconductor prices.
Kwon Hyo-sung of Bloomberg Economics stated that the data validates the "BOK's upbeat assessment…that booming demand for chips is keeping exports and investment strong." John Bromhead, a senior economist at Moody's Analytics, cautioned that "The risk is that growth stays heavily concentrated in the semiconductor sector, leaving South Korea exposed to a slowdown in global AI spending." South Korea posted a current account surplus of $116.6 billion (€100bn) in the second quarter.
