Preliminary figure for the real GDP, adjusted for inflation, shrank 0.3 percent in the January-March quarter from the previous quarter, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
It was the lowest since the fourth quarter of 2008 when the global financial crisis negatively influenced the export-driven economy.
The latest negative GDP growth was tallied in the fourth quarter of 2017 when the real GDP dipped 0.2 percent.
From a year earlier, the real GDP rose 1.8 percent, posting the lowest in nine and a half years since the third quarter of 2009.
It was attributed to lackluster export and investment. Export, which accounts for half of the economy, declined 2.6 percent in the first quarter from three months earlier, with import skidding 3.3 percent.
Facility investment tumbled 10.8 percent in the quarter, and investment in the construction sector shed 0.1 percent. Enditem
Latest comments