South Korea's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.9 percent in the first quarter from three months earlier, the central bank said Thursday.

Real GDP, the broadest measure of economic performance, expanded 0.9 percent during the January-March period from the previous quarter, faster than a revised on-quarter growth of 0.3 percent tallied three months before, according to an advance estimate by the Bank of Korea (BOK).

From a year earlier, the real GDP advanced 2.8 percent, down from a revised on-year expansion of 3.3 percent in the prior quarter.