Last year, South Korea recorded a surplus of over $99 billion in the current account, marking the second-largest surplus in history. Compared to a year ago, the surplus widened threefold. The surplus in the goods account exceeded $100 billion, boosting overall performance.
According to the Bank of Korea's preliminary report on "balance of payments for December 2024" released on the 6th, last year's current account recorded a surplus of $99.04 billion. This is the second-largest figure after 2015 ($105.12 billion). Compared to a year ago ($32.82 billion), the surplus widened by $66.22 billion and was $9.04 billion higher than the Bank of Korea's forecast of $90 billion presented in November.
The current account is a statistic that sums up all economic transactions, including the export and import of goods and services between countries, as well as capital and labor. It is broadly composed of the goods account, services account, primary income account, and transfer account.
The goods account, which subtracts imports from exports, recorded a surplus of $100.13 billion, leading the current account surplus. The surplus amount is 2.7 times that of a year ago ($37.66 billion). It is the first time since 2018 ($110.09 billion) that the goods account surpassed $100 billion.
In terms of detailed items, exports recorded $696.2 billion, an increase of 8.2% ($52.62 billion) from a year ago. By item, semiconductors increased by 42.8%, and ships grew by 17.7%, driving overall exports. Regionally, Southeast Asia increased by 18.4%, Latin America by 17.8%, and the United States by 10.4%.
Imports recorded $596.07 billion. Compared to a year ago, this represents a decrease of 1.6% ($9.85 billion). By item, coal decreased by 18.3%, and passenger cars by 16.6%, while transportation equipment increased by 18.7% and semiconductors by 15.4%. Overall, raw materials decreased by 6.1%, consumer goods by 1.3%, and only capital goods increased by 5.1%.
The services account, which encompasses transactions related to travel, transportation, and intellectual property royalties, recorded a deficit of $23.7 billion. The deficit widened by $3.12 billion compared to a year ago. The travel account had the largest deficit at $12.5 billion, followed by other business services (-$8.52 billion), processing services (-$6.66 billion), and intellectual property royalties (-$3.91 billion).
The primary income account, reflecting flows of wages, dividends, and interest, showed a surplus of $2.662 billion. While wages recorded a deficit of $195 million, investment income recorded a surplus of $2.857 billion, increasing the total surplus by $43 million compared to a year ago. The transfer account, representing differences in gifts and remittances exchanged without compensation between residents and non-residents, recorded a deficit of $4 billion.
The net worth in the financial account, which indicates capital inflow and outflow, increased by $95.21 billion. Of this, direct investment rose by $33.36 billion, and securities investment increased by $50.29 billion. Compared to a year ago, the increase in direct investment was $20.23 billion, while securities investment increased by $42 billion. In contrast, other investments that increased by $14.01 billion last year sharply declined to $4.69 billion.
In December last year, the current account recorded a surplus of $12.37 billion. Compared to a year ago (surplus of $8.93 billion), the surplus widened by $3.44 billion. The goods account produced a surplus of $10.43 billion as exports increased more significantly than imports. The services account recorded a deficit of $2.11 billion, while the primary income account recorded a surplus of $4.76 billion.