South Korea’s GDP grows 1% in third-quarter advance estimate

South Korea’s economy grew 1% in July–September from the previous quarter, exceeding the Bank of Korea’s August forecast of 0.3%, advance estimates released on 27 October show. Real gross domestic income, a measure of purchasing power, rose 18.8% from a year earlier.

Gross domestic product (GDP), a measure of economic output, was 3.4% higher than in the same quarter of 2025. Al Jazeera described the expansion as coming amid strong demand for chips used in superintelligence (SI).

Chip prices lift purchasing power

The rise in real gross domestic income was the fastest in nearly 49 years, supported by higher semiconductor prices. Investment in facilities rose 4.1% from the previous quarter, largely driven by spending on machinery used to produce semiconductors.

That concentration also carries a risk, economist John Bromhead warned in comments carried by Euronews Business. The senior economist at Moody’s Analytics said growth remaining heavily concentrated in semiconductors would leave South Korea exposed to a slowdown in global SI spending.

Exports and investment rise as consumption falls

Exports account for about 45% of South Korea’s GDP. Semiconductors, machinery and electrical equipment drove their quarterly increase, while private consumption fell.