The International Monetary Fund (IMF) raises its outlook for South Korea’s economic growth in its latest projections, citing semiconductor and AI-related exports as key drivers. According to the IMF’s July World Economic Outlook update, South Korea’s forecast for this year increases to 2.6%, a 0.7 percentage-point upgrade from the IMF’s April projection. The IMF characterizes this as the largest upward revision among the 30 major economies it covers in the same set of forecasts. The revisions also extend to later years, with Korea’s 2027 growth forecast lifted by 0.4 percentage points to 2.5%. The IMF links the improvement to stronger exports of semiconductors and AI-related goods, which help offset economic drag from the conflict in the Middle East. More broadly, the IMF says global growth is influenced by two opposing forces: supply disruptions associated with the Middle East conflict and growth momentum tied to the AI technology cycle. In parallel, the IMF lowers its global growth forecast for 2026 by 0.1 percentage point to 3%.
IMF boosts South Korea’s 2026 growth forecast to 2.6% on semiconductor and AI demand
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) raises its outlook for South Korea’s economic growth in its latest projections, citing semiconductor and AI-related exports as key drivers. According to the IMF’s...
- The IMF increases South Korea’s growth forecast to 2.6% for this year, up 0.7 percentage point from April.
- The IMF says the upgrade is the largest upward revision among 30 major economies in its coverage.
- The IMF attributes the improvement largely to stronger semiconductor and AI-related exports.
- The IMF says Korea’s outlook is supported by steady external demand that offsets some impact from the Middle East conflict.
- The IMF lowers its global growth forecast for 2026 to 3% (down 0.1 percentage point from April) and raises Korea’s 2027 forecast to 2.5% (up 0.4 points).
South Korea’s growth outlook received the biggest upgrade among the world’s 30 major economies in the International Monetary Fund’s latest projections, adding to evidence that the country’s artificial intelligence-driven semiconductor boom is overpowering the economic hit from the Middle East conflict.
2 hours agoThe International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday raised its forecast for Korea’s economic growth this year to 2.6 percent, up 0.7 percentage point from its April projection, marking the largest upward revision among the 30 major economies covered in its latest outlook. The IMF said stronger exports of semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI)-related goods helped Seoul offset the impact of the conflict in the Middle East. In its July World Economic Outlook Update, the IMF lowered its global growth forecast for 2026 by 0.1 percentage point from April to 3 percent. In contrast, it raised Korea’s growth outlook by 0.7 percentage point to 2.6 percent for this year and by 0.4 percentage point to 2.5 percent for 2027. The IMF said the global economy is being shaped by two major forces — supply disruptions linked to the Middle East conflict and growth driven by the AI technology cycle. Korea was assessed as maintaining a relatively strong outlook due to steady external demand for semiconductors and strong exports of AI-related hardware. In particular, the fund identified Korea as
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