South Korea’s GDP grew by 1% in the third quarter — Korea Herald

South Korea’s real gross domestic product grew by 1% in July–September 2026 compared with the previous quarter. Growth was driven by strong exports and investment, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea, Korea Herald reports.

A higher-than-forecast result

In the second quarter, the country’s economy grew by 0.6%. The third-quarter result also exceeded the central bank’s August forecast, which projected growth of 0.3%.

On an annual basis, South Korea’s GDP increased by 3.4%, slowing slightly after 3.7% in the second quarter. In the first quarter of 2026, the economy grew by 1.8%, the highest quarterly figure since the third quarter of 2020.

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Exports and investment

Exports grew by 2.3% in the third quarter compared with the previous three months, while imports rose by 2.4%. Net exports added 0.1 percentage point to quarterly GDP growth.

Equipment investment increased by 4.1%, while construction investment rose by 0.7%. Government spending grew by 1.9%, while private consumption declined by 0.2%.

Real gross national income, which takes changes in terms of trade into account, increased by 18.8% year-on-year. This was the largest increase since the fourth quarter of 1977, when the figure stood at 19%.