[Anchor]
The reason this issue is crucial is not only because of the stock market, but also because our economy relies heavily on the semiconductor boom. Semiconductors also drove the surprise growth in the third quarter. However, voices are emerging that we must strip away this "semiconductor illusion" to accurately gauge the livelihood of the ordinary economy.
Reporting from Yoo Soo-Hwan.
[Reporter]
In the third quarter of this year, real gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 3.3% compared to the same period last year.
This figure exceeds expectations by more than three times.
And once again, semiconductors led the surprise growth.
[Lee Dong-won / Director General of the Economic Statistics Department at the Bank of Korea: In the case of computers, electronic, and optical devices, which include semiconductors, the growth contribution rate compared to the same period last year is expected to be around 60%.]
However, the strong performance driven by semiconductors has not sufficiently spread across our entire economy.
Private consumption actually declined by 0.2% as both goods and services decreased, and the consumer sentiment index, which reflects consumers' economic perceptions, fell by 1.2 points from the previous month.
[Chun So-ra / Professor of Economics at Inha University: The semiconductor industry has a low employment inducement coefficient, meaning the extent to which it expands employment is lower compared to other industries. While the GDP figure is good, there are limits to it translating into a general spread of domestic demand, leading to consumption and employment...]
Even now, the warmth of the semiconductor sector is not fully spreading to other parts of the economy, and the shock could be even greater if AI investments were to falter.
The Bank of Korea has warned that in the worst-case scenario, our semiconductor exports next year could plummet by up to 100 billion dollars compared to previous forecasts, and the economic growth rate could drop by 0.4 percentage points.
This is why some point out that statistics excluding the impact of semiconductors should be released separately.
A prime example is Norway, which relies on oil exports for a quarter of its economy and publishes separate GDP statistics excluding this sector.
To more firmly look after domestic demand and people's livelihoods, it is time to consider ways to accurately diagnose reality by stripping away the semiconductor illusion.
(Video by Bae Moon-san | Video Editing by Choi Jin-hwa)
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