The Bank of Korea has announced that it has compiled and released the status of knowledge service trade in South Korea for the first time. Consequently, South Korea has become the fourth country in the world to publish detailed service trade statistics, following the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union (EU).
According to data released by the Bank of Korea on the 19th, last year, South Korea recorded a deficit of $7.26 billion in knowledge service trade. While there were surpluses in information and communication services ($2.76 billion) and cultural and leisure services ($870 million), the overall deficit persisted due to deficits in institutional sectors such as patent licensing (-$3.34 billion) and professional and business services (-$7.55 billion).
By industry, the information and communication sector recorded a surplus of $2.25 billion, while manufacturing (-$4.4 billion) and personal and other industries (-$2.84 billion) experienced deficits. In particular, the information and communication sector was driven by rapid growth in the export of software copyrights and multimedia copyrights.
By region, a surplus of $5.11 billion was recorded in Asia, whereas deficits were observed in North America (-$5.73 billion) and Europe (-$2.85 billion). By institutional sector, medium-sized enterprises ($1.82 billion) recorded a surplus, while large enterprises (-$5.65 billion) and digital intermediary platforms (-$3.88 billion) experienced deficits.
In special classification statistics, both the information and communication technology (ICT) service industry ($2.23 billion) and the content industry ($3.58 billion) recorded surpluses, with the gaming ($3.65 billion) and music ($1.14 billion) industries serving as key growth drivers. Notably, the export of knowledge services from the ICT service industry has shown an annual growth rate of 15.6% since 2010, indicating rapid growth.
The knowledge service trade statistics target four major knowledge service areas in the service sector: ▲ patent licensing ▲ information and communication services ▲ cultural and leisure services ▲ professional and business services. It mainly includes promising services produced based on knowledge and information with high growth potential.
Since June 2023, the Bank of Korea has been working with the government to develop knowledge service trade statistics. With this announcement, it has become the fourth country among major nations to release trade statistics, following the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union (EU). Going forward, the Bank of Korea plans to publish quarterly data for the previous half-year every March and September.
A Bank of Korea official noted, "Through this statistic, we plan to strengthen the competitiveness of South Korea's service industry and actively participate in discussions on the development of service trade statistics centered around digital trade," and added, "We will continue to enhance the foundational data and methodological framework in collaboration with international organizations."