Invest KOREA

Korea's exports increased 0.5 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier in the face of the continued global economic slowdown.

According to a report from the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), the country's exports reached an estimated USD 135.5 billion in the January-March period, while imports declined 3 percent year-on-year to USD 129.7 billion in the first quarter, resulting in a trade surplus of USD 5.880 billion.

“With the Information technology industry perking up, semiconductor and LCD exports recovered. Due to a decline in steel prices, a lack of demand, and a decrease in the operating days of automobile firms, however, the trade surplus was lowered than we expected,” said a KITA official.

Source: Yonhap News (Apr. 4, 2013)

** This article was translated from the Korean.