South Korea’s central bank said on Tuesday the weakness seen in third quarter GDP growth data was largely due to the scrapping of Samsung Electronic Co Ltd’s Galaxy Note 7 and Hyundai Motor’s strikes.
“When you take away the effects from Samsung and Hyundai, third-quarter growth was considerably better than expected,” said Chung Kyu-il, a director at the Bank of Korea.
Chung added the economic effects of Samsung Elec’s decision to scrap the Note 7 were nearly all reflected in third quarter GDP data.
Gross domestic product grew by a seasonally adjusted 0.7 percent over July-September versus the second quarter, the Bank of Korea estimated, ticking down from a 0.8 percent quarterly rise but faster than 0.5 percent growth in the March quarter.