The Korean economy will grow by 1% in 2025

SEOUL, 22nd January, 2020 (WAM) – The economy of the Republic of Korea recorded a growth of 1% during the year 2025 thanks to strong exports, but it recorded negative growth on an annual basis during the last quarter of the same year, according to data issued by the Central Bank of Korea today, Thursday.

The Korean Yonhap News Agency said that the country’s real GDP, a key measure of economic growth, for 2025 matched the previous expectations of the Central Bank of Korea, despite the slowdown in the growth rate from a 2% expansion in the previous year, according to preliminary data issued by the bank.

This was the slowest growth since 2020 when the economy contracted by 0.7% amid the Covid-19 pandemic, falling below the country’s potential growth rate of about 1.8%, the agency said.

During the period from October to December 2025, the Korean economy unexpectedly contracted by 0.3% compared to the previous quarter, recording the first contraction in 6 months, and the weakest quarterly performance since the fourth quarter of 2022, while the central bank had previously expected GDP growth of 0.2% during the fourth quarter.

On an annual basis, GDP expanded by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, down from growth of 1.8% during the previous quarter.

The economy also unexpectedly contracted earlier by 0.2% during the first quarter of 2025 compared to the previous quarter.

But the economy rebounded during the second and third quarters with growth of 0.7% and 1.3%, respectively, thanks to government stimulus measures and strong exports, especially in the booming semiconductor sector.

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