S. Korea's Q2 growth faster than other major countries: OECD report

SEOUL, Aug. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's economy grew at a faster pace than other
major countries during the second quarter of this year amid intensifying fiscal
spending and other stimulus measures, a report showed Thursday.

According to the report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD), South Korea's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 2.3
percent during the April-June period from three months earlier, marking the
fastest growth among 29 member countries surveyed.
The quarter-to-quarter growth is higher than the OECD average of zero percent and
is also much better than minus 0.3 percent for the European Union and minus 0.1
percent for the group of seven advanced nations, the report showed.
South Korea's economy is showing marked signs of recovery after plunging 5.1
percent during the last quarter of 2008, when it was in the throes of global
financial turbulence. In the first quarter, its GDP expanded 0.1 percent from
three months earlier.
Slovakia ranked second following South Korea with its second-quarter GDP
expanding 2.2 percent, trailed by Japan with a 0.9 percent advance. The Czech
Republic, France, Germany and Portugal came next with 0.3 percent, the report
showed.
Compared with a year ago, South Korea's growth also outpaced most major
economies, according to the report.
South Korea saw its GDP shrink 2.5 percent during the second quarter from a year
ago, marking the second best performance among OECD countries. Greece is the only
country that outperformed Korea with its GDP contracting 0.2 percent.
The Seoul government attributed the relatively fast pace of recovery to the
effects of its aggressive fiscal spending and other stimulus measures aimed at
bolstering consumption and investment.
Earlier this month, a state-run think tank, the Korea Development Institute, said
South Korea's economy is "bottoming out" as domestic demand and exports rebound
at a "rapid" pace.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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