South Korea's GDP grows 0.8% on-quarter in Q1: BOK

The Bank of Korea announced today (Thursday) that the country's gross domestic product grew 0.8 percent on-quarter during the first three months of this year.

The central bank said in a report on its preliminary data that the growth was largely attributed to increased construction investment and improved spending.

Meanwhile, the strength of South Korea's won currency against the Japanese yen hit a seven-year high in the morning (Korean time) in the international foreign exchange market.

As of 7:50 AM (23:50 GMT on Wednesday), the won went up to 899.75 won against the Japanese yen, the highest rate since Feb. 2008. But the yen has now recovered its strength above 900 won.