South Korea's Q2 GDP shrinks 0.2% on lower incomes

SEOUL -- South Korea's economy contracted in the second quarter -- logging its first three-month period of negative growth since the late stages of the COVID-19 pandemic -- dragged down by waning incomes, the Bank of Korea announced on Thursday.

The central bank said in an advance estimate that gross domestic product in Asia's fourth-largest economy shrank 0.2% during the April-to-June period compared with the previous quarter. The reading marked the first quarterly contraction since the fourth quarter of 2022, when the economy was still showing signs of strain related to pandemic-related restrictions.