Sharp pullback in growth

GDP expands at slowest pace since 3rd quarter of 2009

By Kim Tong-hyung

Korea’s growth has slowed to its lowest rate since the depths of the global financial crisis, raising investor concerns that the economy has yet to bottom out and more policy action will be needed to halt the skid.

The Korean economy grew at an annualized 2.3 percent in the second quarter, less than the 2.4 percent first thought, representing the slowest pace since the 1 percent expansion in the third quarter of 2009, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Thursday.

Quarter-on-quarter growth was measured at 0.3 percent, down from the bank’s preliminary estimate of 0.4 percent and a third of the 0.9 percent growth measured in the first three months of the year.