[AJU NEWS DB]
South Korea's economy fared better than initially thought in the third quarter, revised Bank of Korea data showed on Thursday.
The central bank said the economy grew a seasonally adjusted 1.3 percent during the July-September quarter from the previous three-month period, just above a 1.2 percent rise estimated earlier. This makes the third quarter of this year the fastest-growing since mid-2010, according to the Bank.
On an annual basis, South Korea's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 2.7 percent in the third quarter, also higher than its advanced estimate of 2.6 percent released on Oct. 23.
The South Korean economy was hit hard by slowing Chinese economy and the outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) this spring and summer which have claimed 38 lives.
The latest GDP data showed the service sector got an apparent boost from growing consumption as the country gets out of the shadow of MERS.
In the July-September period, output by the country's service industry expanded 1 percent from three months earlier, also marking 2.6 percent growth from the same period last year, according to the BOK.
Helped by low-interest housing loan scheme, GDP generated by the construction industry rose 5.6 percent on-quarter in the three months ended Sept. 30.
GDP from the manufacturing industry, on the other hand, only inched up 0.1 percent from three months earlier, partly reflecting a prolonged downturn in the country's exports, a key driving engine for Asia's fourth-largest economy.
The central bank earlier forecast the country's GDP will grow 2.7 percent on-year in 2015.
A BOK official said the target can be attained if the country can post a 0.8 percent on-quarter growth in the fourth quarter.
By Alex Lee
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
![[OPINION] Assessing the trajectory of Chinas Economy: Growth or decline](https://image.ajunews.com/content/image/2024/01/31/20240131173956149557.jpg)
