South Korea's economy is growing at a solid pace, supported by a substantial increase in exports, accelerating investment and gradually improving consumption, the Ministry of Finance and Economy said in its November Green Book released Nov. 13. The assessment upgraded the ministry's previous description of a continuing recovery. October exports surged 93.7% from a year earlier to a record $115.3 billion, driven largely by semiconductor shipments, with average daily exports at $5.24 billion. Cumulative exports through Nov. 10 reached about $963.7 billion, putting the annual total on track to exceed $1 trillion for the first time before the end of the following week. September all-industry production rose 3.0% month-on-month, while mining and manufacturing, construction and services output increased 9.0%, 5.8% and 0.5%, respectively. Facility investment gained 5.3% from the previous month, and third-quarter equipment investment rose 4.1% quarter-on-quarter and 9.4% year-on-year. Retail sales increased 3.6% month-on-month in September but fell 0.4% year-on-year, while private consumption declined 0.2% in the third quarter. Employment rose by 139,000 in October, exceeding 100,000 for a fourth consecutive month, but manufacturing and construction jobs fell and employment among 15-to-29-year-olds dropped by 196,000. The overall employment rate for people aged 15 to 64 rose 0.3 percentage point to 70.4%, while the rate for those aged 15 to 29 fell 1.7 points to 42.9%, extending its decline to 30 months. Consumer prices rose 2.8% year-on-year in October, easing from 2.9% in September and 3.1% in August. Petroleum product prices climbed 14.9% and contributed 0.56 percentage point to October's inflation rate, their sharpest increase since July. The ministry said lingering uncertainties over the Middle East war and the direction of AI industry policies, alongside high oil prices and difficult conditions for vulnerable workers and sectors, could weigh on livelihoods. It pledged to broaden the foundations for growth, strengthen livelihood-stabilization measures and reduce disparities so the benefits of growth spread more widely.