S. Korea sole OECD member with positive Q3 growth: report

SEOUL, Dec. 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea was the sole country among major global
economies to post positive growth during the third quarter of this year, a report
showed Tuesday, suggesting that the nation is making a fast rebound from what
many worried was the worst downturn in a decade.
According to the report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development, South Korea's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.4 percent in the
third quarter from the same period a year earlier. The country was the only
nation to post positive growth among the 29 member countries of the Paris-based
body.
The average growth for the OECD member countries stood at negative 3.3 percent
during the third quarter. Norway showed the second best performance with a 0.7
percent contraction. Greece, France and the United States followed with their
GDPs shrinking 1.6 percent, 2.4 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively, the report
showed.
South Korea's third-quarter growth was also the fastest compared with three
months earlier, with a 2.9 percent expansion. It is much higher than the OECD
average of 0.8 percent on-quarter growth, the report showed.
The comparison buttresses optimism that the Korean economy is making a
faster-than-expected rebound after the steep downturn it suffered in the wake of
the financial crisis and a resulting global recession last year.
The Seoul government recently predicted that the nation could avoid negative
growth for this year, a turnaround in mood compared with a few months ago when it
was worried about the first contraction of the nation's economy in a decade.
Reflecting this change in sentiment, the OECD has predicted that South Korea's
economy will grow 0.1 percent this year before jumping 4.4 percent next year,
revising upward its previous projections due to fast-improving consumption and
export indicators.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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