This article is by Jeong Jae-hong and read by an artificial voice.

Major Korean securities firms raised their growth forecasts for next year after the nation's economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter.
The Bank of Korea said on Tuesday that real gross domestic product in the July-September period rose 1.2 percent from the previous quarter on a preliminary basis. The figure marks the strongest quarterly growth since the first quarter of last year and beats the market consensus of 1.0 percent.
Analysts said stronger private consumption helped drive the expansion, boosted by consumer coupon payments and a firm stock market, while exports held up despite U.S. tariff concerns and facility investment improved.
Consumer coupon payments refer to government-issued vouchers that encourage spending in sectors such as dining, travel and leisure to boost domestic consumption.
"Growth in the third quarter exceeded expectations thanks to stronger private consumption from the coupon program and bullish stock market, as well as rising facility investment supported by the recovery in the semiconductor industry," Jeong Seong-tae, a researcher at Samsung Securities, said.
Other analysts echoed that view, pointing to resilient exports and a balanced recovery across multiple sectors.
"Despite U.S. tariff policies, exports centered on semiconductors and automobiles remained resilient, and net exports contributed 0.7 percentage point to the growth rate," said Choi Ji-uk, a chief economist at Korea Investment & Securities.
Analysts also noted that the recovery is not limited to domestic factors.

"Beyond the recovery in consumption, investment and exports driven by AI and non-U.S. demand helped sustain the rebound," Ha Geon-young, a researcher at Shinhan Investment, said.
Following the stronger-than-expected data, brokerages raised their forecasts for next year's GDP growth. Samsung Securities increased its projection from 2.0 percent to 2.2 percent, while Korea Investment & Securities revised its outlook from 1.8 percent to 1.9 percent.
"Although the recent uptick partly reflects temporary factors such as the coupon payments, the economy is likely to maintain growth near its potential rate - about 0.45 percent per quarter, or roughly 1.8 percent annually - supported by rising semiconductor exports, easing trade uncertainty and an expected Fed rate cut," Jeong said.
Choi pointed to the "wealth effect" from a strong stock market, the possibility of an extra budget before local elections and growing semiconductor demand as upside factors for 2026. He pointed to the high exchange rate, investment uncertainty, weak non-semiconductor exports and sluggish construction investment as downside risks.
Ha said investment remains "key to Korea's growth trajectory."
"Construction investment has contracted for six consecutive quarters, but given the lag between orders and spending, a modest rebound could start in the fourth quarter," Ha said. "Next year's larger R&D budget, additional SME funding and the launch of the National Growth Fund could provide further support if investor sentiment improves."
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

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