Last month, exports decreased by 10% compared to the same month last year. The evaluation is that the addition of temporary holidays during the Lunar New Year reduced the number of working days by four days compared to the same month last year, leading to a decline in exports. This ended a 15-month streak of positive export growth that began in October 2023.
The trade balance recorded a deficit of $1.89 billion. South Korea's trade balance witnessed 19 consecutive months of surpluses until December 2023; however, it turned to a deficit last month.
According to the import and export trends for January 2025 announced by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy, January exports amounted to $49.12 billion, a 10.3% decrease compared to the same month last year. Imports totaled $51 billion, down 6.4% from the same month last year.
The ministry noted, "The long Lunar New Year holidays (from the 25th to the 30th) resulted in a reduction of working days last month (20 days) by four days compared to January 2024 (24 days), leading to a temporary slowdown in exports."
Considering the impact of working days, the average daily exports amounted to $2.46 billion, which is a 7.7% increase compared to the same month last year.
By item, out of the 15 major export items, exports increased for two items in the IT sector, including semiconductors and computer SSDs.
The export amount of semiconductors, the largest export item, was $10.13 billion (+8.1%), marking the second-highest performance for January on record (1st place: January 2022, $10.8 billion). Exports of semiconductors have maintained a positive trend for 15 consecutive months and have surpassed $10 billion for nine consecutive months.
The ministry stated, "Despite the decrease in demand for IT products, strong demand for high-value memory products like HBM and DDR5 has led to nine consecutive months of exports exceeding $10 billion," and projected that the continued investment in global data centers will sustain a firm increase in the export of high-capacity and high-value memory semiconductors used in servers, including artificial intelligence.
Exports of computer SSDs also increased by double digits (14.8%) to $820 million, marking 13 consecutive months of growth.
In contrast, exports of automobiles ($5 billion, -19.6%) and automotive parts ($1.6 billion, -17.2%) were significantly affected by the decrease in working days because the finished car and parts industries implemented additional holidays on January 31.
Exports of petrochemical products also recorded a 29.8% decrease to $3.4 billion. With international product prices declining compared to January last year, production volumes were significantly reduced due to fires at production facilities of major companies at the end of last year.
Exports of displays decreased by 16% to $1.09 billion compared to the previous year, while exports of wireless communication devices recorded $1.21 billion, a 9.4% drop. General machinery decreased by 21.7% to $3.41 billion, and steel saw a 4.9% decrease to $2.63 billion.
Regionally, exports decreased across all nine major markets.
Exports to China recorded a 14.1% decrease to $9.2 billion due to the impact of the Lunar New Year holiday (from Jan. 28 to Feb. 4). Exports to the United States also decreased by 9.4% overall to $9.3 billion, affected by declines in significant export items, including automobiles and general machinery.
Imports in January recorded a decrease of 6.4% to $51 billion. Energy imports fell by 14.0% to $11.36 billion. Imports of crude oil (-5.5%), gas (-20.0%), and coal (-35.0%) all decreased.
The trade balance, which is calculated by subtracting imports from exports, recorded a deficit of $1.89 billion. Last month's trade balance showed a reduction of $2.14 billion compared to the same month last year.
Minister An Deok-geun said, "In January, the working days significantly decreased compared to January last year due to the long Lunar New Year holidays, causing a temporary slowdown in exports," and added, "Considering the impact of working days, the average daily exports increased by 7.7% compared to the same month last year, so I evaluate that our export momentum is still alive."
Minister An further stated, "I will concentrate all available resources to ensure that exports can support our economy as a joint effort between the public and private sectors." He also said, "Given the worsening global oversupply and the decline in memory prices, I will hold an 'Export Strategy Meeting' in February and announce a 'Government-wide Emergency Export Measures' plan that includes immediate and effective measures across all areas of export, including finance, logistics, certification, and marketing."
He added, "Since the announcement of new trade and customs policies has been ongoing since the inauguration of the new U.S. government last month, we will monitor U.S. policy trends in real time and thoroughly examine countermeasures to minimize any negative impact on our corporations."