SKorea to grow faster among advanced nations in 2014: IMF

South Korea's economy is expected to grow at a faster clip than most other advanced nations in 2014, a report showed today, suggesting that the Asian country will stage a swift recovery from the worst downturn in more than a decade.

According to the report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), South Korea's gross domestic product (GDP) will grow 4.5 per cent in 2014, the third-fastest among 33 major advanced countries reviewed by the Washington-based lending organization. That is higher than the average 2.4 per cent growth projected for the whole country group.

Taiwan topped the list with growth of 5 per cent, trailed by Singapore with an advance of 4.6 percent, the report showed. For next year, the IMF forecast South Korea's economy will expand 3.6 per cent after shrinking 1 percent this year. The 2010 growth projection is also the fourth-highest among the advanced country group following Singapore, Slovakia and Taiwan, according to the report.

"The IMF seems to have become optimistic since its initially pessimistic views about our economy, as it is shows signs of a swift rebound from the downturn caused by the global financial turbulence last year," an official at Seoul's finance ministry said.