South Korea’s Q4 economic growth slows

South Korea’s central bank said Thursday that in the fourth quarter of 2011, the country’s economic growth slowed. According to the bank, this was attributed to fragile domestic demand and weakened exports.

Real gross domestic product (GDP), usually taken as the broadest measure of economic performance, went up 0.4% on quarter in the fourth quarter. In the third quarter, real GDP expanded by 0.8%, an advance estimate by Bank of Korea (BOK) showed. In the fourth quarter of 2009, real GDP grew by a meager 0.2%.

Since then, it registered continued growth until the fourth quarter of last year (2011). In 2010, real GDP expanded by 3.4% over the October- December period. Real on year GDP growth was 3.5% in the previous quarter. In general,South Korea’s economy expanded by 3.6% in 2011, down from 6.2% registered the previous year (2011).

The debt crisis in Europe and the subsequent global economic meltdown largely contributed to South Korea’s slowing exports that account for over 50% of the of the Asia’s No. 4 economy.

In addition, weaker spending in both private and public sector led to a fragile domestic demand. Low construction investment coupled with poor facilities was also to blame for the country’s slow Q4 growth.

In the fourth quarter, export of services and goods contracted 1.5% from three months earlier.