EXHIBIT 23.1


            CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

The Board of Directors and Shareholders
The South Financial Group, Inc.:


We consent to the incorporation by reference in the registration statements
(Nos. 33-79668, 333-31948, 333-53170, 333-99159, 333-102877, 333-103763,
333-104947, 333-109578, 333-111805, 333-177409, and 333-117508) on Form S-8 and
the registration statements (Nos. 333-112404 and 333-120366) on Form S-3 of The
South Financial Group, Inc. of our reports dated March 9, 2005, with respect to
the consolidated balance sheets of The South Financial Group, Inc. and
subsidiaries as of December 31, 2004 and 2003, and the related consolidated
statements of income, changes in shareholders' equity and comprehensive income,
and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31,
2004, management's assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over
financial reporting as of December 31, 2004 and the effectiveness of internal
control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2004, which reports appear
in the December 31, 2004 annual report on Form 10-K of The South Financial
Group, Inc.

/s/ KPMG LLP


Greenville, South Carolina
March 14, 2005