South Korea's economy grew at the fastest pace in nearly seven years in the third quarter thanks to strong exports.
 
According to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea on Friday, the country's gross domestic product(GDP) reached 392-point-five trillion won in the July-September period, expanding one-point-five percent from the previous quarter.
 
The figure is point-one percentage point higher than the advance estimate released in October and the highest gain since the second quarter of 2010, when it grew one-point-seven percent.
 
The rise is mostly attributed to strong exports, which increased at the fastest pace in six and a half years in the third quarter.  
 
Attention is being drawn to whether the rise in the preliminary data will lead domestic and foreign organizations to revise upward their growth forecasts for this year for South Korea.  
 
The local economy grew three-point-eight percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, the biggest increase since the first quarter of 2014.