US$1 Trillion Mark
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced that South Korea’s trade volume exceeded US$1 trillion as of December 6 for the third year in a row.
According to MOTIE, the nation’s exports posted US$519.4 billion, while its imports hit US$480.6 billion in the cited period. This year saw the 1 trillion dollar mark achieved 4 days earlier than last year.
Korea’s trade surplus reached a record high with US$43 billion. Only four countries —South Korea, Germany, China, and the Netherlands — recorded more than US$1 trillion in trade volume and a trade surplus for the third straight year.
Semiconductors and smartphones are widely regarded as the driving force behind the growth of exports that made up for the poor performance of some of the main items such as steel and petroleum products. However, the US$1 trillion achievement came later than expected.
Initially, the government anticipated that it would be able to attain the goal as early as late November or early December at the latest, because of a positive trend in exports in the latter half of this year. Nevertheless, the attainment was delayed, affected by a reduction in trade volume between Korea and Japan owing to the weak yen.