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South Korea's exports to China and other emerging economies have spiked over the
past decade on the back of their robust economic growth, government data showed
Monday.
Seoul's overseas shipments to emerging countries stood at
US$386.4 billion last year, or 72.8 percent of its total exports, according to
the Ministry of Knowledge Economy. In 2002, exports to such nations came to
$86.5 billion, accounting for 53.2 percent of the total.
Accordingly, the
weight of Korea's outbound shipments to advanced economies declined to 27.2
percent last year from 46.8 percent 10 years earlier.
The changing
trend came as emerging countries have posted relatively fast economic growth
while advanced economies have been mired in the severe economic downturn, driven
by the 2008 global financial crisis and the eurozone debt crisis.
Exports account for about 50 percent of Korea's economy, indicating that Asia's
fourth-largest economy is highly susceptible to changes in the global economic
environments.
Korea's exports to China, its No. 1 trading partner,
were valued at $130.2 billion in 2012, accounting for 24.5 percent out of its
total overseas shipments, according to the data. This compared with $23.8
billion with 14.6 percent tallied for 2002, it added.
Meanwhile,
exports by Asia's fourth-largest economy to the U.S. reached $56.7 billion last
year with their portion making up 10.7 percent out of its total export volume.
The 2012 figures were a sharp decline from 20.2 percent recorded for 2002, the
data showed.
The weight of Korea's outbound shipments to the European
Union declined to a single digit for the first time in 2012, according to the
ministry. Korea saw such a portion hit 9 percent last year after reaching 11.5
percent in 2010 and 10 percent in 2011.
Analysts said that emerging
countries are likely to lead the global economic growth this year as they did
following the 2008 global financial turmoil.
"The U.S. and Europe will
cut their fiscal spending this year, which will be offset by emerging countries
in making the global economy recover," said Park Seung-young, an analyst at
Taurus Investment & Securities Co.
The combined nominal gross
domestic product by emerging countries is estimated to reach $44.12 trillion
this year, larger than an estimated $42.7 trillion for advanced economies,
according to the International Monetary Fund.