South Korea Q2 GDP Growth Beats Estimates

2026-07-22 23:07 By Chusnul Chotimah 1 min. read

South Korea’s economy expanded by 0.6% QoQ in the second quarter of 2026, surpassing expectations of 0.4% but slowing from 1.8% growth in the first quarter, which was the strongest quarterly expansion since Q1 2021, preliminary estimates showed.

GDP growth was mainly driven by robust exports, which offset downward pressure from the lingering conflict in the Middle East.

Exports grew 1.4%, driven by IT products such as semiconductors and machinery equipment, while imports rose at a softer rate of 0.8%.

Private consumption climbed 0.4%, supported by higher spending on both goods and services, while government consumption rose 0.2%.

Investment in intellectual property products grew by 3.3%, while facility investment advanced 0.2%.

By contrast, construction investment fell 0.2% as civil engineering activity declined.

On a yearly basis, the economy grew 3.7% in Q2, easing from 3.8% in Q1, which marked the fastest annual growth since Q4 2021, while remaining above market estimates of 3.5%.



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South Korea Q2 GDP Growth Beats Estimates
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