South Korea GDP grows 1% in quarter, beating Bank of Korea forecast

South Korea’s economy grew 1.0% in the third quarter of 2026 from the previous quarter, beating the Bank of Korea’s 0.3% forecast and extending its run of quarterly growth. The expansion was led by semiconductor-fueled exports, up 2.3%, and a 4.1% rise in facility investment, particularly in chipmaking equipment; GDP was 3.4% higher than a year earlier. The semiconductor boom also lifted real gross domestic income to its strongest growth in nearly 49 years. But private consumption fell 0.2%, its steepest decline in more than four years, as spending on both goods and services weakened, underscoring that stronger export income has not broadly translated into household spending.