Seoul: South Korea's exports expanded 13.5 percent from a year earlier in the first 20 days of this month, data showed Monday. Outbound shipments reached US$40.12 billion in the Sept. 1-20 period, compared with $35.36 billion tallied over the same period last year, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.
According to Yonhap News Agency, imports increased 9.9 percent on-year to $38.22 billion during the period, resulting in a trade surplus of $1.9 billion. In August, exports, a key economic growth engine for the country, rose 1.3 percent on-year to $58.4 billion due to strong demand for semiconductors.