South Korea's economy delivered its fastest growth ?in ?nearly six years last quarter, smashing forecasts ?as booming chip exports rode a global surge in AI investment, though rising risks from the Middle ?East war threaten to cut into the record earnings. Gross domestic product expanded 1.7% in the January-March quarter from the prior three months, the Bank of ?Korea said, blowing through the median Reuters ?poll estimate of 1.0% by a wide margin.