The Korean economy contracted in the fourth quarter of last year for the first time in two and a half years.

The Bank of Korea estimated on Thursday that the country's gross domestic product(GDP) shrank zero-point-four percent in the October to December period from the previous quarter.

It marks the first quarterly contraction since the second quarter of 2020 when the economy shrank three percent after the outbreak of COVID-19.

Despite the contraction in the fourth quarter, the economy grew two-point-six percent in 2022, as forecast by the BOK.

The economy expanded for the second consecutive year after posting a contraction of zero-point-seven percent in 2020 due to the pandemic. In 2021, it grew four-point-one percent.