Samsung's halt of Galaxy Note 7 hurt third-quarter GDP: finance ministry official

Employees walk in the main office building of Samsung Electronics in Seoul, South Korea, January 6, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd's decision to scrap its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone likely erased 0.1 to 0.2 percentage points from third-quarter GDP growth in quarterly terms, a finance ministry official told Reuters on Tuesday.

The official, who declined to be named as he was not authorized to speak to media on the issue, made the comments just hours after the Bank of Korea estimated third-quarter GDP growth at 0.7 percent from the previous three-month period.

(Reporting by Christine Kim; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)