Data from the Bank of Korea released on Wednesday showed that South Korea’s economy grew faster than previous estimates in the second quarter of this year, driven by strong exports and investment.

The country’s real GDP, a key measure of economic growth, increased by 0.7 percent in Q2 compared to Q1, an upward revision of 0.7 percentage points from initial estimates.

The central bank said in a statement, “This revision came after incorporating some actual performance data from the last month of Q2, which showed better-than-expected results in exports, construction investments, and intellectual property products, while facility investment was revised downward.”

South Korea’s Yonhap news agency noted that the Q2 growth rate is the highest since Q1 2024, when GDP grew by 1.2 percent.

On a yearly basis, the economy grew by 0.6 percent in Q2, also 0.1 percentage points higher than previous estimates.

The Q2 growth represents a significant recovery after the economy contracted by 0.2 percent in Q1, which was caused by a domestic political crisis following former President Yoon Suk-yeol’s declaration of martial law last December, alongside uncertainty from comprehensive tariffs imposed by former U.S. President Donald Trump.

Last week, the Bank of Korea raised its economic growth forecast for this year to 0.9 percent from its previous 0.8 percent estimate.