Exports YoY

32.1%

South Korea has an export oriented economy and its exports account for more than 50 percent of GDP. The country's exports tumbled 10.3 percent to USD 542.4 billion in 2019 after reaching a record high in the previous year, due to the US-China trade dispute, Japan's restrictions on exports, Brexit, and Hong Kong protests. Main exports were electrical machinery and equipment (28 percent of total exports), nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical (13 percent), road vehicles (12 percent), mineral fuels, mineral oils, bituminous substances (8 percent), plastics and articles thereof (6 percent), iron and steel (4 percent), optical, photographic, cinematographic, measuring (4 percent), organic chemicals (4 percent), and ships and boats (3 percent). China was the largest destination of South Korea's shipments (25 percent of total exports), followed by the US (14 percent), Vietnam (9 percent), Hong Kong (6 percent), Japan (5 percent), Taiwan and India (3 percent each), and Singapore, Mexico, Malaysia, Germany and the Philippines (2 percent each).

Imports YoY

43.6%

In 2019 imports to South Korea dropped 6 percent to USD 503.2 billion from the previous year's all-time high, as domestic production and facility investment dwindled. Main imports were mineral fuels, mineral oils, bituminous substances (25 percent of total imports), electrical machinery and equipment (18 percent), nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical (10 percent), optical, photographic, cinematographic, measuring (4 percent), road vehicles (3 percent), iron and steel (3 percent), ores, slag, ash (3 percent), organic chemicals (3 percent), plastics and articles thereof (2 percent), miscellaneous chemicals products (2 percent), and inorganic chemicals, compounds of precious metals (2 percent). China was the biggest source of imports (21 percent of total imports), followed by the US (12 percent), Japan (9 percent), Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Australia and Germany (4 percent each), Taiwan, Russia and Qatar (3 percent each), and Kuwait, Malaysia, the UAE and Indonesia (2 percent each).

Balance of Trade

3090000000

South Korea remained as a net exporter for the 11th consecutive year in 2019 with a trade surplus of USD 39.2 billion, despite a downturn in semiconductors, petrochemicals, and petroleum products industry and challenges such as the US-China trade dispute, Japan’s restrictions on exports, Brexit, and Hong Kong protests.

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