S. Korea enters recession as exports plunge by most since 1963

Exports, which account for nearly 40% of the economy, were the biggest drag on growth, dropping by 16.6% on-quarter to mark the worst reading since 1963

SEOUL: South Korea plunged into recession in the second quarter in its worst economic decline in more than two decades as the coronavirus pandemic battered exports and social distancing curbs paralysed factories.

Asia’s fourth-largest economy shrank by a seasonally adjusted 3.3% in the June quarter from three months earlier, the Bank of Korea (BoK) said yesterday. That is the sharpest contraction since the first quarter of 1998 and steeper than a 2.3% fall seen in a Reuters poll.