Global institutions expect S. Korea's economic growth to rebound to 1.8 pct in 2026: report
South Korea's economy may have hit bottom this year with its growth expected to rebound to a near 2 percent range next year, a report showed Sunday, Yonhap reports.
According to a report by Bloomberg, the average rate of growth forecasts by 41 local and international organizations for the South Korean economy came to 1.8 percent for 2026, which, if realized, would mark a notable rebound from the 0.9 percent growth projected this year by the Bank of Korea (BOK).
The average forecast is 0.2 percentage point higher than the 1.6 percent growth projected by the South Korean central bank last week, and is on par with an earlier projection by the Seoul government.
So far, 19 local and global institutions have also offered 2027 outlooks for Asia's fourth-largest economy, which came to an average 2 percent, according to the report.
The projection surpasses the country's potential growth rate, which stands at 1.9 percent, according to an earlier estimate by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
The BOK earlier forecast the local economy to grow 1.1 percent on-quarter in the July-September period, possibly marking one of the five steepest growths among 37 major economies.
Such a favorable outlook was partly attributed to strong exports driven by increased demand for semiconductors and recovery in domestic consumption.
As reported earlier, Seoul approves the Paju city government plan to contact North Korea for a cross-border marathon event.