SEOUL, July 23 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean economy grew 0.6 percent in the second quarter from a quarter earlier as robust exports offset downward pressure from lingering Middle East tensions, central bank data showed Thursday.

The country's real gross domestic product (GDP) -- a key measure of economic growth -- rose 0.6 percent in the April-June period from three months earlier, according to advance data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The second-quarter reading marked a decline from the previous quarter's 1.8 percent expansion, the strongest quarterly growth since the third quarter of 2020, when the economy expanded 2.2 percent.

However, it beat the BOK's earlier forecast of 0.2 percent made in May.

Asia's fourth-largest economy contracted by 0.2 percent in the first quarter of 2025 before recovering with growth of 0.7 percent and 1.3 percent in the following quarters. But it backtracked in the fourth quarter, declining 0.2 percent amid weak facility investment and a downturn in the construction sector.

Containers are stacked at a port in the southern coastal city of Busan, in this file photo from July 15, 2026. (Yonhap)

brk@yna.co.kr
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