South Korea's economic growth slowed in the second quarter from three months earlier due to weaker exports and sluggish construction investment, the central bank said Wednesday.
Asia's fourth-largest economy grew 0.8 percent quarter-on-quarter in April-June compared to a 1.3 percent expansion in January-March, according to an advance estimate from the Bank of Korea.
Gross domestic product (GDP) rose 3.4 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, slowing down from a 4.2 percent increase in January-March.
"Private consumption steadily increased and facilities investment rose. But growth in exports slowed while construction investment remained sluggish," the central bank said in a statement.
The second-quarter performance was slightly below the central bank's initial estimate early this month and the market's expectations.
For the whole of this year, the bank expects the export-dominated economy to grow 4.3 percent, while the finance ministry's forecast is 4.5 percent. GDP grew 6.2 percent in 2010, the fastest rate for eight years.
Analysts said the economy would largely remain on a firm growth track for the rest of the year thanks to robust exports, rising local consumption and a recovering job market.
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