OECD maintains Korea's 2025 growth outlook at 1%
OECD Secretary-General Mathias Corman arrives for a media statement at the government headquarters in Bucharest, Romania, Sept. 15. EPA-Yonhap
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) maintained its growth outlook for the Korean economy at 1 percent this year, according to Seoul's finance ministry Tuesday.
The OECD forecast Asia's fourth-largest economy to grow 2.2 percent next year, also sticking to its projection made in June, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
The latest projection is slightly higher than the Seoul government's estimate. The Bank of Korea (BOK) raised its 2025 economic growth forecast for the country to 0.9 percent from the initial forecast of 0.8 percent last month amid signs of a recovery in consumption and eased uncertainties surrounding the United States' tariff scheme.
The finance ministry said the OECD projected Korea's growth to pick up pace next year, unlike other major economies, thanks to signs of economic recovery.
Korea's real gross domestic product (GDP) — a key measure of economic growth — increased at a faster-than-expected pace of 0.7 percent in the April-June period compared with the previous quarter, according to preliminary data from the BOK released earlier this month.
The OECD raised its growth forecast for the global economy to 3.2 percent for this year, but kept its 2026 forecast steady at 2.9 percent, saying it expects global trade uncertainties sparked by U.S. tariffs will likely contract investment and trade in the second half of 2025.