South Korea Balance of Trade

Last Release

Mar 31, 2025

Actual

4,990

Units In

USD Million

4,150

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

May 01, 2025

Time to Release

28 Days 13 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
13,419.36 Sep 2017	-12,650 Jan 2023	1,105.67 USD Million	1966-2025	N/A

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.

Latest Updates

South Korea's trade surplus increased to USD 4.99 billion in March 2025, up from USD 4.29 billion in the same month a year earlier, but smaller than market expectations of USD 6.1 billion, preliminary data showed. Exports rose by 3.1% year-on-year to a three-month high of USD 58.3 billion, below market forecasts of a 3.5% rise, after a downwardly revised 0.7% rise in the prior month, mainly due to a rebound in semiconductor exports. Meanwhile, imports grew 2.3% to a three-month high of USD 53.3 billion, after a 0.2% gain in the previous month, matching market estimates, amid rises in non-energy imports and semiconductor equipment. In the first quarter of the year, the trade surplus narrowed to USD 7.34 billion from USD 8.50 billion in Q1 of 2024.