Seoul  - South Korean GDP growth is expected to slow down from the 3.7-per-cent forecast for 2008 to 2 per cent in 2009, the central bank said Friday.

The central Bank of Korea (BoK) blamed the global economic downturn - which has curtailed the country's exports and cut down domestic consumption - for the lowest growth forecast since 1998.

"The Korean economy is unlikely to recover its growth momentum before 2010 as it undergoes a slowdown both in exports and domestic spending amid the global economic recession," said Kim Jae-Chun, a senior official at BoK.

The current account forecast by the BoK predicts a reversal from a deficit of 4.5 billion dollars in 2008 to a surplus of 22 billion dollars for 2009.

"The (projected) 2009 surplus is, however, not a positive sign, because it is driven by Korea's shrinking imports as companies cut back capital spending in response to slowing demand from less-spending consumers," Kim said.

South Korea's central bank on Thursday announced a 3-per-cent interest rate cut, the deepest in its history, in order to reduce the impact of the global recession on its economy. (dpa)