The state-run Korea Development Institute(KDI) upwardly revised its growth forecast this year from two-point-two to two-point-six percent.

In an outlook report released on Thursday, the KDI said the economy is expected to expand two-point-six percent in 2024 amid a sharp increase in exports. The revised forecast is higher than the two-point-five percent put forth by Moody's Ratings and the same as the outlook presented by the OECD.

The gross domestic product(GDP) during the first quarter jumped three-point-four percent year-on-year, due mainly to the continued recovery in exports and a base effect.

The institute said outbound shipments are drastically increasing centered around semiconductors, reflecting a significant rise in turnover in the global semiconductor market and easing of the downturn in international trade.

The KDI forecast the economy to grow two-point-one percent next year with an adjustment in export recovery, and for inflation to post two-point-six percent this year due to a domestic downturn, before slowing to two-point-one percent in 2025.