South Korean growth slows to 2% in 2012

South Korea's economic growth slowed to 2 percent in 2012, a three-year low, dpa quoted estimates from the Bank of Korea as showing Thursday. The eurozone debt crisis and other external factors led to lower growth than expected, said Kim Young Bae, the director general of the Economic Statistics Department. He said the situation would probably improve in the first half of 2013. Gross domestic product in Asia's fourth-largest economy grew 6.3 per cent in 2010 and 3.6 per cent in 2011. In the final quarter of 2012 South Korea's economy grew 0.4 percent quarter-on-quarter. Exports shrank 1.2 per cent after growing 2.8 per cent in the third quarter. The government said it estimates growth will be 3 per cent in 2013.