Last year, the share of yen payments in South Korea's exports and imports fell to the lowest level in history. In contrast, the share of yuan payments for imports from China increased for six consecutive years, reaching an all-time high.
According to the '2024 Economic and Currency-Specific Export and Import (Final)' statistics released by the Bank of Korea on the 14th, the share of yen payments in South Korea's exports last year was recorded at 2.0%, a decrease of 0.3 percentage points from the previous year, marking the lowest level ever. The share of yen payments for imports also fell to 3.7%, down 0.1 percentage points from the previous year, reaching the lowest level in history.
By item, exports with yen payments decreased, particularly in machinery, precision instruments, and steel products. Exports to Japan peaked at $39.68 billion in 2011, but have been continuously declining, reduced to $29.61 billion last year. The Bank of Korea explained that the decrease in trade volume with Japan led to a decline in the share of yen payments.
In the case of the yuan, the share of export payments decreased, while the share of import payments increased. The share of yuan payments for exports recorded 1.5%, a decrease of 0.2 percentage points from the previous year, while the share for imports reached an all-time high of 3.1%, up 0.7 percentage points from 2023 (2.4%). By item, the share of yuan payments in exports decreased, particularly in machinery, precision instruments, and semiconductors. For imports, the share of yuan payments increased, mainly in semiconductors, steel products, and automotive parts.
Head of Team Kim noted, "The Chinese government is making significant efforts to internationalize the yuan, and since the establishment of the won-yuan direct transaction market in 2014, the share of yuan payments has increased with our country. The trade with China has increased, focusing on imports rather than exports, which has raised the yuan share."
However, the currency with the largest share in exports and imports remains the U.S. dollar. The share of dollar payments in exports increased to 84.5%, up 1.4 percentage points from the previous year. Exports with dollar payments increased, focusing on items like ▲semiconductors ▲computer peripherals ▲ships. The share of dollar payments for imports decreased by 0.2 percentage points to 80.3%. Generally, dollar payments for imported raw materials decreased.
Meanwhile, the share of won payments in exports was recorded at 2.7%, down 0.1 percentage points from the previous year. The increase rate of exports for passenger cars, which have a relatively high share of won payments, lagged behind the overall export increase rate. The share of won payments in imports also decreased by 0.3 percentage points from the previous year, showing 6.3%.