SO. KOREA IN RECESSION AS EXPORTS PLUNGE THE MOST SINCE 1963

South Korea plunged into recession in the second quarter in its worst economic decline in more than two decades as the coronavirus pandemic battered exports and social distancing curbs paralyzed factories, Mainichi Shimbun reported in the afternoon of July 23, 2020.

Asia's fourth-largest economy shrank by a seasonally adjusted 3.3% in the June quarter from three months earlier, the Bank of Korea said on Thursday. That is the sharpest contraction since the first quarter of 1998 and steeper than a 2.3% fall seen in a Reuters poll.

South Korea joins Japan, Thailand and Singapore in technical recession, defined as two straight quarters of decline, as the pandemic slams Asia's trade-reliant economies. However, analysts and policymakers are looking at the prospect of a recovery that would be faster than those of its regional peers.

"It's possible for us to see China-style rebound in the third quarter as the pandemic slows and activity in overseas production, schools and hospitals resume," South Korean finance minister finance minister Hong Nam-ki said after the data was released, referring to China's return to growth in the second-quarter after a deep slump earlier in the year. South Korea's gross domestic product fell 2.9% in year-on-year terms, the biggest fall since the fourth quarter of 1998 and worse than a 2.0% decline seen in the poll.

Exports, which account for nearly 40% of the economy, were the biggest drag on growth, dropping by 16.6% on-quarter to mark the worst reading since 1963. South Korea's POSCO, the world's fifth-biggest steelmaker, reported an 84.3% drop in operating profit in the second quarter as global demand for steel plummeted.