Biggest Ever Trade Surplus in 1998

The total trade surplus in 1998 reached 39.9 billion dollars, which is the biggest in Korean history.
Foreign investment into Korea during 1998 recorded 8.9 billion dollars another milestone.
Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (MOCIE) announced on January 2 that the total sum of exports decreased by 2.2 percent to 133.2 billion dollars and that of imports plunged by 35.4 percent to 93.3 billion dollars.
Exports recorded negative growth rate for the first time since 1958, but it was not as serious as the double-digit rate of decrease that competitor-countries like Taiwan and Singapore encountered.
A source at MOCIE analyzed that this scale of surplus is owing to rapid decrease in imports and an increase in exports of computers and semiconductors to the U.S. and European market.
Experts at MOCIE expect that imports will increase by 16.8 percent to 109 billion dollars and the trade surplus will reach 25 billion dollars in 1999.