SEOUL, July 8 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's current account surplus hit a record monthly high thanks to strong demand for locally-made semiconductors, central bank data showed Wednesday.
The current account balance, or the broadest measure of cross-border trade, recorded a surplus of 38.61 billion U.S. dollars in May, topping the previous high of 37.93 billion dollars in March, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
It stayed in black for 37 consecutive months since May 2023, driven by semiconductor export boom.
For the first five months of 2026, the current account surplus stood at 141.28 billion dollars, over four times larger than 33.90 billion dollars in the same period of 2025.
Trade surplus for goods reached an all-time high of 37.86 billion dollars in May.
Export soared 62.9 percent from a year earlier to 94.34 billion dollars in May, while import swelled 22.2 percent to 56.48 billion dollars.
Service account deficit totaled 1.09 billion dollars in May, lower than a deficit of 2.56 billion dollars a year earlier.
Primary income account, including monthly salary and investment income, registered a surplus of 2.17 billion dollars due to a rebound in dividend income from foreign stock investment.
Financial account, which gauges cross-border capital flow without transactions in goods and service, achieved a net outflow of 31.08 billion dollars in the cited month.
Overseas direct investment by domestic residents climbed by 4.56 billion dollars, while foreign direct investment in South Korea increased by 2.69 billion dollars.
For the portfolio investment, which includes stock and bond trading, overseas investment by local residents gained by 6.24 billion dollars, but foreign investment in local stocks and bonds reduced by 24.65 billion dollars. ■
