S. Korea continues under 1% growth rate in Q2

[THE INVESTOR] The South Korean economy grew by less than 1 percent for the third straight quarter, raising concerns of a prolonged slowdown.

According to the Bank of Korea, the country’s gross domestic product for the second quarter of the year came to 375.04 trillion won (US$327.99 billion), growing 0.7 percent from the previous quarter.

In comparison, the country’s GDP recorded a 0.5 percent quarter-on-quarter growth during the first three months of the year. The figure for the final quarter of 2015 was 0.7 percent. 

The second quarter GDP expanded 3.2 percent on-year.

While the GDP grew, gross domestic income dropped 0.4 percent over the same period. This is the first time since the first quarter of 2011 that Korea’s GDI recorded a quarter-on-quarter decline.

The BOK attributed the change to the rise in crude prices, and the relatively high growth rate of 3 percent recorded in the previous quarter.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)