S. Korean economy grows fastest among OECD nations in Q1

SEOUL, June 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea posted the highest economic growth rate
among the world's leading industrialized economies in the first three months of
the year, an international report showed Tuesday.
The country's gross domestic product (GDP) rose 1.8 percent on-quarter in the
January-March period, according to the report by the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD).
In the same period, the GDP of the 30 OECD member countries averaged 0.7 percent,
while that of 16 European countries using the euro currency averaged 0.2 percent.

Sweden ranked No. 2 with 1.4 percent, followed by Japan with 1.2 percent, Hungary
with 0.9 percent and the United States with 0.8 percent, the report said.
The South Korean economy is recovering fast from the global downturn on the
strength of resilient exports and a state stimulus package. The Korea Development
Institute, a state-run think tank, recently raised its 2010 growth outlook for
the country to 5.9 percent from 5.5 percent, much higher than the government's 5
percent forecast.
jia@yna.co.kr
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