Outflow Decrease
The rate of increase in exports from Korea dropped to one-fifth last year in comparison to that of before the global financial crisis in the early 2000s.
According to the Bank of Korea’s report released on May 18, the drop in exports can be attributed to the sluggish international trade that followed the slow growth of the global economy caused by the financial turmoil.
“The rate of increase in exports from Korea reached 13 percent in 2000 to 2007, but plummeted to 4.4 percent in 2012, 4.5 percent in 2013, and then 2.3 percent last year,” the central bank explained, adding, “These days, the exports of end goods is failing to make a breakthrough, as advanced economies are importing less.”
According to UN Comtrade data, the ratio of the export of end goods manufactured by Korea and shipped out to China increased by 10.1 percent between 2005 and 2013. However, the export ratio of those to the United States fell by 3.8 percent during the same period, and the rate of decrease added up to 13.9 percent when it comes to the shipment to Europe.
Between 2000 and 2007, the size of international trade grew by 7.2 percent. The percentage dropped to as low as 2.8 percent in 2012 and edged up to 3.4 percent in 2014.