S. Korea's economy grows 3.3 percent in 2014

South Korea's economy grew 3.3 percent in 2014 after rising 2.9 percent in the prior year, central bank data showed Wednesday.

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased 3.3 percent in 2014 as private consumption and exports maintained a growing trend, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The 2014 growth was faster than the previous year, but the quarterly figure slowed down, boosting worries about the sluggish recovery.

On a quarterly basis, the real GDP growth kept falling from 1.1 percent in the first quarter of 2014 to 0.8 percent in the third quarter and 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter.

Nominal GDP was 1,485.1 trillion won (1.35 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2014, up 3.9 percent from a year earlier.

Private consumption rose 1.8 percent in 2014, down from a 1.9 percent growth in 2013. Increase in exports slid from 4.3 percent in 2013 to 2.8 percent in 2014, with the figure for construction investment declining from 5.5 percent to 1 percent.

Real gross national income (GNI), which measures all income earned by South Koreans both at home and abroad, was 28,180 U.S. dollars per capita in 2014, up 7.6 percent from a year earlier.

Personal gross disposable income (PGDI), which gauges purchasing power of households, was 15,786 U.S. dollars per capita in 2014, up from 14,704 dollars in 2013.

GDP deflator, the broadest measure of inflation for all goods and services, posted 0.6 percent in 2014, down from 0.9 percent in the previous year. Endi