South Korea’s economy grew at its fastest pace in a decade in the second quarter on the back of robust exports and rebounding consumption, but the optimism was damped by a wave of Covid-19 infections.

Gross domestic product expanded 5.9 per cent from a year earlier in the April-June quarter, according to the Bank of Korea, partly owing to the low base effect from last year when the country was hit hard by the pandemic. Asia’s fourth-largest economy continued to exceed pre-crisis levels but momentum slowed, with GDP expanding 0.7 per cent from the previous quarter.  

The economic recovery was underpinned by a jump in exports amid robust demand for semiconductors, cars and ships, surging 22.4 per cent year on year in the second quarter. Private consumption and government spending rose 3.5 per cent and 3.9 per cent, respectively, quarter on quarter.