South Korea’s growth forecast upgraded to 3.8%

The South Korean economy is now forecast to grow 3.8 percent this year by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), who earlier projected a 3.3 percent growth.

The boost was due to strong export growth and expansionary macroeconomic policy.

According to the OECD, the strong overseas demand for IT products and automobiles is lifting exports.

IT products account for about a fifth of total exports.

The OECD also expects the economy to gather momentum once distancing measures are lifted.

Last week, the Bank of Korea revised its growth outlook for the country this year by 1 percentage point to 4.0 percent as exports rose more than expected.

If BOK’s 4.0 percent growth forecast is realized, it would mark South Korea's fastest economic growth since 2010 when its growth rate reached 6.8 percent after recovering from the 2008–2009 global financial crisis.

Last month, the International Monetary Fund raised its outlook from 3.1 percent to 3.6 percent.

JP Morgan, the Korea Institute of Finance, and LG Economic Research Institute expect the annual economic growth to exceed the 4.0 percent level.