IT trade surplus hit $15 billion in 2002

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IT trade surplus hit $15 billion in 2002

Korea posted a trade surplus of $15.3 billion in the information and technology sector in 2002, the Ministry of Information and Communication said yesterday. Exports of information technology products grew 20 percent to $46 billion in 2002 over 2001, it said. Korea’s imports of information technology products, meanwhile, increased by 10 percent to $30.7 billion, the ministry said. The share taken up by the information and technology sector in total foreign trade has also grown over recent years. In 1998, the information technology industry accounted for 23 percent of total exports. This increased to 28 percent last year, according to the ministry. The information technology sector also outstripped Korea’s total trade surplus of $10.3 billion last year, it said. After showing constant growth from 1998, the information technology sector’s trade surplus plunged to $10 billion in 2001, from $15.6 billion in 2000, due to a worldwide industry recession. The ministry attributed Korea’s turnaround last year ― despite a continuing slump in the global information and technology sector ― to more varied export items and export markets. For example, semiconductor chips, which accounted for 62 percent of total exports on average from 1993 to 1997, made up only 36 percent of total exports in 2002. Meanwhile, mobile phone handsets gained market share in exports, from just 1.8 percent on average from 1993 to 1997, to 20 percent in 2002. by Kim Hyo-jin
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