South Korea enters first recession in 17 years as exports plummet

GDP contracts 3.3% in second quarter, but economists see a rebound

A view of a container port at Busan, South Korea taken on June 10. South Korea's export-oriented economy has been dragged into recession by the new coronavirus. © Getty Images

KIM JAEWON, Nikkei staff writer

July 23, 2020 08:03 JST

Updated on July 23, 2020 10:06 JST

SEOUL -- South Korea entered a recession for the first time in 17 years as exports plunged due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Bank of Korea announced Thursday that the country's gross domestic product fell 3.3% in the April-to-June period from the previous quarter, when it contacted 1.3%. It is the first time that the economy shrank for two straight quarters since 2003, and the quarterly drop is the steepest since 1998.