The country has maintained a trade surplus for 18 consecutive months since June 2023, with a cumulative surplus exceeding $40 billion on an annual basis.

Cho Ik-no, director of trade policy at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, expressed confidence in the continued positive export growth and trade surplus through the end of November.

South Korea's exports for the first 20 days of November 2024 rose by 5.8% compared to the same period in 2023, totaling $35.611 billion.

This increase in exports coincided with a 1% decline in imports, which amounted to $34.813 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $798 million.

On the import side, significant decreases were noted in crude oil by 23.7%, gas by 5.2%, and petroleum products by 18.8%, although imports of semiconductor manufacturing equipment surged by 134.8%.

The data was released by the Korea Customs Service on November 21, 2024, highlighting the ongoing trends in trade performance.

The average daily export amount improved from $2.17 billion in 2023 to $2.3 billion in 2024, with the number of working days remaining constant at 15.5 days.

In October 2024, South Korea recorded its highest monthly semiconductor exports at $12.54 billion.

Exports to China, Vietnam, and the European Union rose by 3.5%, 16.3%, and 7.5%, respectively, while exports to the United States and Japan saw slight declines.

Key export categories demonstrated remarkable growth, with semiconductors increasing by 42.5%, shipbuilding by 77.1%, and computer peripherals by 73.5%.

Conversely, exports of passenger vehicles dropped by 17.7%, and imports from the United States and Saudi Arabia decreased by 14.1% and 30.2%, respectively.

This report was covered by Reuters, with Cynthia Kim as the reporter and Tom Hogue as the editor.