South Korea’s current account surplus surged to a record high of USD 49.73 billion in June 2026, up from USD 38.61 billion in May, supported primarily by strong semiconductor exports. The goods account surplus widened to USD 47.89 billion from USD 37.86 billion, as exports jumped 84.5% year-on-year to USD 112.37 billion, far outpacing a 38.6% increase in imports to USD 64.48 billion.
The primary income account surplus rose to USD 3.27 billion in June from USD 2.17 billion in May, reflecting higher equity income. At the same time, the secondary income deficit narrowed to USD 0.14 billion from USD 0.33 billion, largely due to reduced secondary income payments.
By contrast, the services account deficit widened slightly to USD 1.29 billion in June from USD 1.09 billion in May, as larger shortfalls were recorded in other business services and manufacturing services.
For the first half of 2026 as a whole, the current account surplus expanded sharply to USD 191.01 billion, compared with USD 47.87 billion in the same period of 2025.
