South Korea’s Economy Surges on Semiconductor Boom, with Nominal GDP Up 26.4% in Second Quarter

South Korea’s nominal economy expanded at its fastest rate in nearly 47 years as a semiconductor export boom pushed second-quarter GDP up 26.4% from a year earlier.

Nominal GDP stood at 834.9 trillion won in the April-to-June period, according to preliminary national income data released by the Bank of Korea. The growth rate was the highest since the third quarter of 1979, when it reached 27.7%.

Nominal GDP measures the value of goods produced within the country using their prices, and therefore shows the overall size of the economy. The latest increase reflected the continuing strength of semiconductor exports.

The Bank of Korea also said a substantial rise in nominal gross national income, combined with the won’s decline to the 1,330-won range against the dollar, made it highly likely that South Korea’s per-capita GNI would exceed $40,000 this year. The GDP deflator, which reflects economy-wide price levels through export and import prices, was also included in the bank’s national income data.