The South Korean economy is forecast to fall 0.8 percent in 2020 under a scenario of no more COVID-19 pandemic in the country, the Paris-based organization said in its "OECD Economic Surveys: Korea 2020' report."
It is higher than the previous forecast of 1.2 percent contraction announced two months earlier, marking the highest estimate among 37 OECD member countries.
The country's real gross domestic product (GDP), adjusted for inflation, dropped 3.3 percent in the second quarter compared to the previous quarter. During the first quarter, the real GDP declined 1.3 percent on a quarterly basis.
Despite the contractions, the GDP is expected to rebound in the second half thanks to a partial recovery in global demand, led by the reopening of businesses across the world, and the government's efforts to bolster consumer spending.
The OECD said "a prompt reaction and an effective containment strategy" helped limit the COVID-19 spread, noting that the South Korean government has taken "appropriate and prompt measures to support economy and alleviate hardship."
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