A health official wearing protective gear sprays disinfectant in a cafeteria at a high school in Seoul, South Korea. Photo: AFP

South Korea's gross domestic product (GDP) declined 3.3 percent in the second quarter on the back of the COVID-19 outbreak, central bank data showed Thursday.

Real GDP, adjusted for inflation, dropped 3.3 percent in the April-June quarter from the previous three-month period, after sliding 1.3 percent in the January-March quarter, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

It was the fastest reduction in over 22 years since the first quarter of 1998 when the foreign exchange crisis roiled the South Korean economy.

From a year earlier, the real GDP slumped 2.9 percent in the second quarter. It was the biggest fall since the fourth quarter of 1998.

The COVID-19 pandemic weakened the global trade, hitting hard the outbound shipment of South Korea.

Export, which takes up about half of the export-driven economy, tumbled 16.6 percent in the second quarter from three months earlier.

It marked the biggest drop in 56 and a half years since the fourth quarter of 1963 when the export plunged 24.0 percent.

Import slipped 7.4 percent in the quarter due to the cheaper global crude oil.