The South Korean economy is on a recovery track according to a National Statistics office report released on Sept 6. showing that the service sector output grew 4.2% year-on-year in July, up from a 2.7% gain in June.
The July figure, a 31-month high since December 2002, marked a fifth consecutive month of gains.
The real estate and rental sector grew 8.9% year-on-year in July, up from 5.5% in June, with the financial sector improving to 11.9% from 6.0%. However, growth in the wholesale and retail sector slowed to 2.0% in July from 2.3% in June. Restaurants and hotels fell 0.7% in July, improving from a 1.8% decline in June.
South Korea's central bank said last week the country's gross domestic product in the first half of this year to June grew 3.0%, down from 4.6% a year ago, despite a pickup in the second quarter.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2005
