South Korea's Economy Maintains 0.1% Growth in Q4, 2.0% for 2024

Seoul, South Korea - According to preliminary data released by the Bank of Korea, South Korea's real gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 0.1% in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to the previous quarter.

The Q4 growth matched the advance estimate and maintained the same pace as the third quarter.

Real gross national income (GNI) grew by 1.3% quarter-on-quarter, outpacing GDP growth. Year-on-year, the economy expanded by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, bringing annual Growth for 2024 to 2.0%, up from 1.4% in 2023.

On the production side, manufacturing rose by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, supported by increases in chemicals, chemical products, and computer and electronic products.

Services expanded by 0.4%, driven by finance, insurance, human health, and social work, while construction contracted by 4.1%.

Private consumption increased by 0.2% as spending on services increased while expenditures on goods decreased. Government consumption grew by 0.7%, with increased expenditures on health care benefits.

Exports expanded by 0.8%, mainly due to IT items such as semiconductors, while imports increased by 0.1% due to improved machinery and equipment imports.

Facilities investment was up by 1.2%, driven by increased investment in machinery despite decreased investment in transportation equipment.

For the full year, manufacturing growth accelerated to 4.0% in 2024 from 1.7% in 2023, while construction turned negative at -2.8% after growing 3.1% in 2023.

The GDP deflator rose by 4.1% year-on-year in the fourth quarter.

The gross savings ratio stood at 35.7%, 1.2 percentage points higher than in the previous quarter, while the gross domestic investment ratio was 29.8%, 0.1 percentage points lower than in the previous quarter.