South Korea’s economy returned to growth in the first quarter of 2026, with gross domestic product expanding by 1.7% quarter-over-quarter, according to data updated on 22 April 2026. This marks a strong turnaround from the previous quarterly performance, when GDP had contracted by 0.2%.
Both the previous and current readings relate to quarter-over-quarter changes, meaning the earlier -0.2% figure reflected the change from the fourth quarter of the prior year to the first quarter of 2026, while the latest 1.7% captures the improvement from that earlier quarter. The shift from contraction to solid growth underscores a notable short-term recovery in South Korea’s economic momentum within the same first-quarter 2026 period, based on successive quarter comparisons.
