On April 23, the Bank of Korea reported on Thursday that the strong global appetite for artificial intelligence (AI) technology has fueled export expansion, enabling South Korea's economy to mount a robust recovery in the early part of the year. During the first quarter of this year, South Korea's gross domestic product (GDP) experienced a 1.7% quarter-on-quarter increase, reversing the contraction observed in the fourth quarter of 2024 and achieving the highest growth rate since the third quarter of 2020. This performance significantly outstripped the 0.9% consensus forecast from institutional surveys and even exceeded the most optimistic projections. Data indicates that South Korea's chip exports soared by 139.1% year-on-year in the first quarter, with the growth rate more than doubling compared to the previous quarter. Total export growth reached new monthly peaks not seen since 2021. Concurrently, construction investment and equipment investment rose by 2.8% and 4.8%, respectively. However, for the South Korean economy, which has seen erratic growth momentum in recent quarters, future risks persist. Influenced by the situation in Iran, the outlook for growth and prices remains uncertain, and consumer confidence fell to a 10-month low in March.