A woman walks past a Samsung store with an Note 7 display in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, China, October 10, 2016. Picture: China Daily via Reuters

BusinessSouth Korea

South Korea blames weak GDP on Samsung recall, strikes

Gross domestic product grew by a seasonally adjusted 0.7 percent in third quarter

By Reuters October 25, 2016 9:01 AM (UTC+8)

South Korea’s central bank said on Tuesday the weakness seen in third quarter GDP growth data was largely due to the scrapping of Samsung Electronic Co Ltd’s Galaxy Note 7 and Hyundai Motor’s strikes.

“When you take away the effects from Samsung and Hyundai, third-quarter growth was considerably better than expected,” said Chung Kyu-il, a director at the Bank of Korea.

Chung added the economic effects of Samsung Elec’s decision to scrap the Note 7 were nearly all reflected in third quarter GDP data.

Gross domestic product grew by a seasonally adjusted 0.7 percent over July-September versus the second quarter, the Bank of Korea estimated, ticking down from a 0.8 percent quarterly rise but faster than 0.5 percent growth in the March quarter.

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