The data showed private consumption weakened and construction investment remained in contraction in the fourth quarter. Exports edged up on demand for semiconductors and other information-technology goods.

South Korea's economy barely grew in the fourth quarter of 2024, missing market expectations, as domestic demand was hurt by the country's worst political crisis in decades, advanced central bank estimates showed on Thursday.

South Korea's economy expanded 1.2% year on year in the fourth quarter, marking its slowest expansion since the second quarter of 2023.

Political turmoil over impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, who failed a martial law attempt in December, and sluggish domestic demand weighed on Asia’s fourth-largest economy.

The South Korean economy posted weaker-than-expected growth last year amid slowing export growth, sagging domestic demand and a political crisis, central bank data showed Thursday. The country's real gross domestic product -- a key measure of economic growth -- increased 2 percent in 2024,