Korea was the seventh largest exporter last year, outpacing Italy and Belgium and inched up to ninth in trade volume. In a report released Sunday, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said the nation's exports rose 28.6 percent from a year earlier to US$467.4 billion in 2010, replacing the previous record of $422 billion set in 2008.
Imports posted a 32 percent rise to $425.7 billion. As a result, Korea's trade surplus hit a new record high of $41.7 billion, exceeding the previous year's $40.4 billion.
Due to brisk performance in the semiconductor and car industries, Korea became the world's seventh biggest exporter last year, up two notches from 2009. Exports of semiconductor chips rose 63.3 percent on-year to $50.7 billion. The auto parts industry also burgeoned 62.6 percent, the car industry 39.3 percent, and petrochemicals 34.9 percent.
By contrast, exports of mobile communication devices contracted by 11.6 percent from a year ago due to the poor performance of smartphones in the first half of last year.
Korea's exports are forecast to grow more slowly this year after the record-setting performance in 2010, the ministry said. Exports are expected to grow by 9.8 percent from last year to $513 billion, and imports by 14.6 percent to $488 billion, a ministry official said. With expected growth in imports due to rising prices of raw materials including crude oil, the trade surplus is projected to fall by over $16 billion to around $25 billion.
