Doha: South Korea: South Korea's economy grew by 0.6% in the second quarter of 2026 compared to the previous quarter, driven by strong artificial intelligence (AI)-related exports.

According to Qatar News Agency, the country's real gross domestic product (GDP) rose 0.6% in the April-June period from three months earlier.

On a yearly basis, the economy expanded 3.7% in the second quarter, extending its growth momentum after expanding 3.8% on-year in the first quarter.

The on-quarter figure matched BOK's earlier estimate released last month, but it revised up growth in construction investment and intellectual property investment by 0.1 percentage point each, while cutting government consumption growth by 0.1 percentage point.

On a nominal basis, the country's GDP grew 9.2% in the three-month period that ended in June from three months earlier and expanded 26.4% from a year earlier, marking the sharpest growth since the third quarter of 1979, when the economy surged 27.7% on-year.

The central bank data also showed that the country's gross national income (GNI) rose 8.8% on a nominal basis from a quarter earlier and 26.4% from a year earlier.

Real GNI rose 3.1% from a quarter earlier and 15.6% from a year earlier, marking the steepest growth since the fourth quarter of 1988, when real GNI jumped 15.7% on-year.

Based on the continuing growth momentum, the central bank earlier revised up its 2026 growth estimate to 3.3%, citing solid exports driven by the ongoing semiconductor super cycle.