First Time since September 2018
The Bank of Korea announced on Nov. 5 that South Korea’s current account surplus totaled US$10.21 billion in September this year to exceed US$10 billion for the first time since September 2018.
South Korea posted a current account deficit of US$3.33 billion in April in the wake of COVID-19. However, it remained in the black in the subsequent five-month period.
In September, the increase in surplus was led by exports, which increased 8 percent year on year to US$49.85 billion. Semiconductor, chemical product and automobile exports jumped 12.4 percent, 16 percent and 24.3 percent, respectively. The monthly imports rose 1 percent year on year to US$37.83 billion. Above all, both exports and imports, which never increased after the outbreak of COVID-19, simultaneously increased for the first time in seven months.
The service account deficit, in the meantime, reached US$2.04 billion, down approximately 10 percent from a year ago. The travel account deficit fell to US$430 million with the number of inbound travelers decreasing along with that of outbound. The transport account surplus was US$280 million.
The primary income account dropped to US$610 million due to a dividend income deficit of US$160 million. The dividend income decreased with overseas South Korean corporations having difficulties whereas foreigners received more dividends from South Korean IT companies. Net foreign financial assets showed an increase of US$8.91 billion.