The South Korean economy grew 0.8 percent in the second quarter of this year from a quarter earlier as exports remained brisk amid sluggish domestic demand, the central bank said Friday.
The figure represents no change from the Bank of Korea's interim estimate in July. Compared with a year earlier, the fourth-largest Asian economy grew 4.8 percent, also the same pace as an earlier estimate.
GDP is the broadest measure of output of goods and services produced within an economy in a given period.
"Domestic demand in the second quarter was more sluggish than an estimate made in July," Jung Young-taek, head of the BOK's national income statistics team, was quoted as saying by Yonhap News. He added that rising household debts, coupled with higher inflation, are sapping consumer spending.
Although Jung declined to comment on expected effects of the government's recent plans to cut taxes, he said a cut in taxes would help contribute to boosting economic growth by stimulating spending.
Exports of goods, which account for about 40 percent of the country's GDP, rose 4.3 percent over the previous quarter, higher than an earlier estimate of a 3.7 percent gain.
Private spending, one of the main growth engines of the South Korean economy, declined 0.2 percent from the preceding quarter, compared with an earlier estimate of a 0.1 percent contraction. Consumer spending dipped for the first time since it fell 0.1 percent in the second quarter of 2004.
Facility investment gained 0.9 percent, compared with an earlier estimate of a 1 percent expansion, while construction investment fell 1 percent, larger than an estimated 0.6 percent contraction.
"The local economy is losing ground with domestic demand weakening. Slowing growth and high inflation would make it difficult for policymakers to change their policy stances," Kim Jae-eun, an economist at Hana Daetoo Securities, was quoted as saying. "In this sense, the BOK is expected to leave the key interest rate unchanged (at 5.25 percent) next week.''
In August, the BOK raised its rate by a quarter percentage point to an eight-year high of 5.25 percent to contain spiraling inflation, the first increase in a year.