South Korea's gross domestic product was up a seasonally adjusted 0.3 percent on quarter in the first quarter of 2023, the Bank of Korea said in Tuesday's advance estimate.
That beat forecasts for an increase of 0.2 percent following the 0.4 percent contraction, avoiding a technical recession in the process.
On an annualized basis, GDP grew 0.8 percent, shy of expectations for a gain of 0.9 percent and slowing from 1.3 percent in the previous quarter.
Real gross domestic income (GDI) increased by 0.8 percent compared to the previous quarter.
