South Korea reached an all-time high current account surplus in May, driven by strong semiconductor exports, as per data from the Bank of Korea. The surplus amounted to $38.61 billion, surpassing the previous month’s $28.29 billion. This marked the largest monthly surplus ever, exceeding the previous record set in March.
In comparison to the same period last year, the surplus saw a significant increase from $9.91 billion. South Korea has maintained a current account surplus every month since May 2023, extending its winning streak to 37 consecutive months, the second longest in history. For the first five months of the year, the country recorded a cumulative surplus of $141.28 billion, a substantial rise from the $33.9 billion surplus in the same period last year.
The goods account registered a surplus of $37.86 billion in May, with exports surging by 62.9 percent year-on-year to $94.34 billion, while imports rose by 22.2 percent to around $56.48 billion. Notably, exports of information technology products saw a remarkable increase of 128.9 percent from the previous year, including a surge of 167.7 percent in chip shipments and a 249.4 percent rise in computer peripherals.
The services account, however, recorded a deficit of $1.09 billion in May, narrowing from the previous month’s $2.42 billion loss due to a decrease in travel deficit and intellectual property-related payments. On the other hand, the primary income account, which includes foreign workers’ wages and dividend and interest income from abroad, showed a surplus of $2.17 billion, driven by increased dividend income. The secondary income account reported a deficit of $330 million.
A Bank of Korea official mentioned that the expected first-half current account surplus of $151.5 billion is likely to be surpassed in June. Moreover, the annual current account surplus for 2026 is anticipated to exceed the earlier forecast of $250 billion.
