IMF lifts Korea's growth outlook to 2.6%, biggest upgrade among 30 major economies

The International Monetary Fund raised its 2025 growth forecast for South Korea to 2.6%, the largest upgrade among 30 major economies, citing strong semiconductor and AI-related exports. The IMF's July outlook also cut global growth for 2026 to 3% amid Middle East disruptions.

The International Monetary Fund IMF on Wednesday raised its forecast for Korea’s economic growth this year to 2.6 percent, up 0.7 percentage point from its April projection, marking the largest upward revision among the 30 major economies covered in its latest outlook. The IMF said stronger exports of semiconductors and artificial intelligence AI -related goods helped Seoul offset the impact of the conflict in the Middle East. In its July World Economic Outlook Update, the IMF lowered its global growth forecast for 2026 by 0.1 percentage point from April to 3 percent. In contrast, it raised Korea’s growth outlook by 0.7 percentage point to 2.6 percent for this year and by 0.4 percentage point to 2.5 percent for 2027. The IMF said the global economy is being shaped by two major forces — supply disruptions linked to the Middle East conflict and growth driven by the AI technology cycle. Korea was assessed as maintaining a relatively strong outlook due to steady external demand for semiconductors and strong exports of AI-related hardware. In particular, the fund identified Korea as