SEOUL, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's current account surplus hit a new record high thanks to an unprecedented boom in semiconductor exports, central bank data showed Thursday.
The current account balance, or the broadest measure of cross-border trade, recorded a surplus of 49.73 billion U.S. dollars in June, topping the previous high of 38.61 billion U.S. dollars in May, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
It stayed in surplus for 38 consecutive months since May 2023, driven by the semiconductor export boom.
For the first six months of 2026, the cumulative current account surplus achieved an all-time high of 191.01 billion U.S. dollars, about four times larger than 47.87 billion U.S. dollars in the same period of 2025.
Trade surplus for goods reached a historic high of 47.89 billion U.S. dollars in June.
Exports soared 84.5 percent from a year earlier to 112.37 billion U.S. dollars in June, surpassing 100 billion U.S. dollars for the first time on the back of strong demand for semiconductors, computers and mobile devices.
Imports jumped 38.6 percent to 64.48 billion U.S. dollars on solid demand for semiconductor manufacturing equipment and crude oil.
Services account deficit totaled 1.29 billion U.S. dollars in June, lower than a deficit of 2.80 billion U.S. dollars a year earlier.
Within services, the travel balance logged a surplus of 440 million U.S. dollars in June, marking its second straight month in positive territory as foreign arrivals grew while high fuel surcharges deterred locals from traveling abroad.
Primary income account, including monthly salary and investment income, registered a surplus of 3.27 billion U.S. dollars due to an expansion in dividend income from foreign stock investment.
The net assets of financial account, which gauges cross-border capital flow without transactions in goods and services, grew by 46.71 billion U.S. dollars in June, exceeding the previous high of 36.99 billion U.S. dollars set in March.
Overseas direct investment by domestic residents climbed by 8.01 billion U.S. dollars, while foreign direct investment in South Korea increased by 4.63 billion U.S. dollars.
For portfolio investment, which includes stock and bond trading, overseas investment by local residents gained by 3.56 billion U.S. dollars, but foreign investment in local stocks and bonds dropped by 26.32 billion U.S. dollars. ■