SEOUL: South Korea's industrial output grew faster than expected in December thanks to strong exports of computer chips and cars, official figures showed Monday.The statistic is a fresh indication that Asia's fourth-largest economy is starting the year in good shape.

Figures released last week showed 2010 economic growth at an eight-year high of 6.1 percent, while the government expects growth of around five percent this year.Mining and manufacturing output rose 2.8 percent in December from a month earlier, Statistics Korea said, faster than the 1.6 percent increase forecast by economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires.

In November it rose month-on-month by a revised 1.5 percent. The December figure was up 9.8 percent from December 2009, compared to November's revised 10.7 percent year-on-year increase. For the whole of 2010, industrial production increased 16.7 percent.

"Semiconductors and cars contributed a combined 69.3 percent to the monthly (output) gain," the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said in a statement."The real economy seems to be recovering again after a temporary correction."