GDP Grows 1.3% in Q1 on Year
The Bank of Korea said on April 23 that South Korea's economy shrank 1.4 percent on-quarter in the first quarter due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It marks the sharpest quarterly contraction since the fourth quarter of 2008, when the economy shrank 3.3 percent on-quarter.
Compared with a year ago, the economy grew 1.3 percent, the weakest on-year gain since the third quarter in 2009, when it expanded 0.9 percent.
The first-quarter growth figure, however, was better than market expectations. Many economists expected the economy to shrink more sharply in the quarter due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Private consumption plunged 6.4 percent on-quarter in the first quarter, the largest drop since the first quarter of 1998, when it slipped 13.8 percent.
Exports decreased 2 percent in the first quarter from the previous one, but facility investment increased 0.2 percent and construction investment gained 1.3 percent.