South Korea's finance ministry on Thursday set its 2020 economic growth outlook at 2.4 percent on expectations that export and investment would rebound next year.

Real gross domestic product (GDP), adjusted for inflation, was expected to rise 2.0 percent this year, down from the previous forecast of a range of 2.4-2.5 percent estimated five months earlier.

The real GDP expanded 3.1 percent in 2017 and 2.7 percent in 2018 respectively.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance forecast that the economy would rebound next year with its growth estimate of 2.4 percent thanks to improvement in export and investment.

Export, which takes up about half of the export-driven economy, was expected to increase 3.0 percent in 2020, after tumbling 10.6 percent in 2019.

The ministry said the global trade was forecast to recover next year in addition to the expected upturn of business cycle of the global semiconductor industry.

Import was projected to grow 2.5 percent next year, after sliding 6.4 percent this year.

Outlook for next year's current account surplus was set at 59.5 billion U.S. dollars, higher than this year's estimate of 58 billion U.S. dollars.

Facility investment was forecast to advance 5.2 percent next year after skidding 7.7 percent this year.

Construction investment was forecast to fall 2.4 percent in 2020, but it was down from this year's expectation of a 4.0-percent decline.

Private consumption, another engine of economic growth, was predicted to rise 1.9 percent this year and 2.1 percent next year.