South Korea's exports were estimated to grow 3 percent in the second quarter due to expected solid demand from advanced economies, a state-run trade bank said Tuesday.

The country's on-year export growth was forecast to reach around 3 percent during the April-June period as the economic recovery in developed nations was expected to outweigh underperformance in emerging economies, the state-run Export- Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) said in an e-mailed statement.

Despite the expected slowdown in emerging countries, the U.S. economy continued to recover amid the Japanese economy showing signs of recovering from the deep recession, the Eximbank said, adding that South Korea's semiconductor industry recently signaled recovery from the previous downturn.

Meanwhile, the leading export index, which gauges local firms' outlook for exports, reached 122.2 for the second quarter, up 0.6 from three months earlier, and the first rebound in three quarters. The index was based on a survey of 130 large corporations and 323 small- and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs), conducted by the Eximbank between March 5 and 16.

"Despite the economic slowdown in BRICs, the index rebounded in three quarters due to the improved profitability of the IT sector and an increase in leading economic indicators of the U.S. and Japan," said an official at the trade bank.