Korean economy grows 1% in 2025

SEOUL, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 10th Mar, 2026) The Korean economy expanded 1 percent in 2025 amid strong exports but recorded negative growth in the fourth quarter, central bank data showed on Tuesday.

The country’s real gross domestic product (GDP), a key measure of economic growth, contracted 0.2 percent from the previous quarter in the October-December period, compared with an earlier estimate of a 0.

3 percent contraction, according to preliminary data released by the Bank of Korea (BOK).

This marked the country’s first quarterly contraction since the January-March period of last year, when the economy shrank 0.2 percent.

On a yearly basis, GDP grew 1.6 percent in the fourth quarter, down from a 1.8 percent expansion in the previous quarter.

For the entire year of 2025, the economy expanded 1 percent, matching the BOK's earlier estimate and slowing from the previous year's 2 percent growth.