Trade activities of South Korea
South Korea is located in East Asia with three sides facing the sea. This geographical condition creates very favorable conditions for trading and exchanging goods by sea with South Korea.
In South Korea, besides their mother tongue, people also speak many different languages such as English, Chinese, and Japanese. With the development of the Vietnamese community (including migrant workers and international students), Vietnamese is used more and more in this country. The development of many different languages also creates favorable conditions for South Korea in promoting trade exchange with countries around the world (including Vietnam).
For many years, South Korea has been known as one of the countries with the most active trade activities in the world. According to ITC Trademap, South Korea's total import and export turnover in 2022 reached 1,415 billion USD (accounting for 2.9% of global trade), of which exports reached 683.6 billion USD, imports reached 731.4 billion USD. With these results, South Korea ranked 7th among the countries that import and export the most in the world, in which exports ranked 7th and imports ranked 9th.
Table 1 – South Korea’s import-export turnover in the period 2013 – 2022
Unit: billion USD
|
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
|
|
Imports |
515.6 |
525.6 |
436.5 |
406.1 |
478.4 |
535.2 |
503.3 |
467.5 |
615.0 |
731.4 |
|
Exports |
559.6 |
573.1 |
526.9 |
495.5 |
573.7 |
605.2 |
542.3 |
512.8 |
644.4 |
683.6 |
|
Surplus/ Deficit |
44.1 |
47.5 |
90.4 |
89.4 |
95.3 |
70.0 |
39.1 |
45.2 |
29.4 |
-47.8 |
Source: ITC Trademap, 2023
Imports
South Korea is the 9th largest import country in the world, accounting for approximately 2.9% of total global imports in 2022. Over the past decade, although South Korea's import turnover have fluctuated, it has shown an overall upward trend during this period. Specifically, the import value of South Korea increased from $515.6 billion in 2013 to $731.4 billion in 2022. After a decline in the period 2019-2020 due to the impact of trade tensions between South Korea and Japan and the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, South Korea’s import turnover rapidly recovered and achieved impressive growth, increasing by 31.5% in 2021 and 18.9% in 2022, respectively.
South Korea mainly imports mining products such as mineral fuels and ores in Chapters 26 and 27 (accounting for about 33% of total imports). Next, South Korea also imports a lot of machinery, electrical/mechanical equipment and vehicles in Chapters 84, 85 and 87 (accounting for about 30% of total imports). In addition, South Korea also has a relatively large import demand for chemicals, iron and steel, plastics, etc.
Table 2 - Top 10 imported products of South Korea in 2022
|
No. |
Main imported products of South Korea |
Import turnover in 2022 (billion USD) |
Proposition in total imports |
|
1 |
Chapter 27: Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation; bituminous substances; mineral waxes |
218.7 |
29.9% |
|
2 |
Chapter 85: Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof; sound recorders and reproducers, television image and sound recorders and reproducers, and parts and accessories of such articles |
131.8 |
18.0% |
|
3 |
Chapter 84: Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts thereof |
68.4 |
9.4% |
|
4 |
Chapter 90: Optical, photographic, cinematographic, measuring, checking, precision, medical or surgical instruments and apparatus; parts and accessories thereof |
22.7 |
3.1% |
|
5 |
Chapter 26: Ores, slag and ash |
21.9 |
3.0% |
|
6 |
Chapter 87: Vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling-stock, and parts and accessories thereof |
21.7 |
3.0% |
|
7 |
Chapter 28: Inorganic chemicals; organic or inorganic compounds of precious metals, of rare-earth metals, of radioactive elements or of isotopes |
20.0 |
2.7% |
|
8 |
Chapter 72: Iron and steel |
18.9 |
2.6% |
|
9 |
Chapter 29: Organic chemicals |
16.1 |
2.2% |
|
10 |
Chapter 39: Plastics and articles thereof |
13.8 |
1.9% |
Source: ITC Trademap, 2023
Exports
South Korea is currently the 7th largest export country in the world, accounting for about 2.8% of the total global export value in 2022. During the period 2013-2022, South Korea’s exports generally tended to increase, from 559.6 billion USD in 2013 to 683.6 billion USD in 2022. South Korea’s export turnover in 2019-2020 also decreased due to uncertainties in the trade relationship with Japan and the impact of COVID-19 pandemic. However, South Korea’s exports quickly recovered and increased again, with an increase of 25.7% in 2021 and 6.1% in 2022.
For many years, South Korea has maintained a trade surplus with the world, however, its trade surplus has gradually narrowed. In 2022, South Korea's trade balance changed from trade surplus to trade deficit. Specifically, from a trade surplus of 29.4 billion USD in 2021, South Korea switched to a trade deficit of 47.8 billion USD in 2022.
As a developed country with world leading technology, South Korea's main export products include mechanical products, electrical/mechanical equipment, and vehicles of all kinds (accounting for more than half of South Korea's export value). In addition, South Korea also exports a variety of chemicals, steel, plastics, and ships, etc.
Table 3 - Top 10 export products of South Korea in 2022
|
No. |
South Korea’s main export products |
Export turnover in 2022 (billion USD) |
Proposition in total exports |
|
1 |
Chapter 85: Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof; sound recorders and reproducers, television image and sound recorders and reproducers, and parts and accessories of such articles |
210.43 |
30.8% |
|
2 |
Chapter 87: Vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling-stock, and parts and accessories thereof |
75.62 |
11.1% |
|
3 |
Chapter 84: Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts thereof |
73.03 |
10.7% |
|
4 |
Chapter 27: Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation; bituminous substances; mineral waxes |
64.75 |
9.5% |
|
5 |
Chapter 39: Plastics and articles thereof |
41.16 |
6.0% |
|
6 |
Chapter 72: Iron and steel |
28.11 |
4.1% |
|
7 |
Chapter 29: Organic chemicals |
24.72 |
3.6% |
|
8 |
Chapter 90: Optical, photographic, cinematographic, measuring, checking, precision, medical or surgical instruments and apparatus; parts and accessories thereof |
18.21 |
2.7% |
|
9 |
Chapter 89: Ships, boats and floating structures |
17.14 |
2.5% |
|
10 |
Chapter 28: Inorganic chemicals; organic or inorganic compounds of precious metals, of rare-earth metals, of radioactive elements or of isotopes |
15.64 |
2.3% |
Source: ITC Trademap, 2023
Source: Center for WTO and International Trade
