Exports Top $200 Bln, Serving as Driving Force behind Economy
- 2004 Trade Day celebrated with fanfare

Korea celebrated $100 million worth of exports with a fanfare back in 1964. As exactly 40 years have passed since then, the nation is now witnessing exports surpassing the $200 billion mark. During the 40-year period, the Korean export industry has grown at an average of 23.1 percent, the highest among the global top exporting countries. The figure is compared to her rivals: Taiwan and China have grown an average of 16 percent and 14 percent, respectively, during that period.
Among the nations that registered $100 million worth of exports back in 1964, Korea is the only country to break the $200 billion mark. Figures released by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (MOCIE), show that the number of exporting items recorded an 11-fold jump, while the number of Korea's trading partners saw a 5.6-fold rise. The number of trading companies surged 130 times during that time, while its global market share expanded from 0.07 percent to 2.6 percent last year.
Korea now places 12th in terms of the volume of exports. If Belgium and Hong Kong, with higher percentages in transit trade, are excluded, Korea has virtually been listed among the global top 10 exporting countries.
A ceremony celebrating the 41st anniversary of Trade Day was held in at the COEX on Nov. 26 with about 1,100 people, including President Roh Moo-hyun, and MOCIE Minister Lee Hee-beom and Korea International Trade Association Chairman Kim Jae-chul, participating, reflecting a festive mood for commemorating a milestone of surpassing the $200 billion exports mark.
While addressing his speech during the ceremony, President Roh vowed to make utmost efforts to realize a goal of recording $400 billion worth of exports by 2010 so as to place Korea among the global top 8 exporting countries.
Despite the achievement, President Roh said, the Korean economy is faced with difficulties: disparity between exporting and domestic businesses, and between large and smaller companies have been exacerbated. Consumption and investment sentiment needs to be boosted, while concerns are rising over a trade structure in which rising exports bring about an increase in component imports. Innovation is the only way to tackle with these woes, and prices, quality and the value of brand should be upgraded through technology innovation, he said. All sectors of the nation ranging from the corporate field to financial, labor and administration sectors have to firm up a competitive edge, he added.
The government will put more energy into strengthening core capabilities so as to help smaller company and corporations from provincial areas explore their exporting markets, he said. Roh said trade infrastructure will be expanded to global standards. To this end, efforts will be made to dramatically simplify trading procedures and save costs by completing the e-Trade innovation project by 2007 without a hitch.
The government, he said, will spur efforts to restructure the trade structure and diversify overseas markets. First of all, it will have to build a virtuous cycle of export and domestic demand in which the value added of exports is upgraded through cultivation of the domestic parts and materials industries, thus leading to smaller companies' rising revenues, he said.
MOCIE Minister Lee said, "It is significant that Korea has achieved an astonishing feat - $200 billion worth of exports and $500 billion worth of trade volume in 40 years after Trade Day was designated in 1964 for the first time." The government will exert itself to boost exports by solving grievances and problems facing exporting companies and providing support in expanding trade infrastructure and exploring overseas markets, he said.
As part of its efforts to encourage corporations and employees who have struggled to tide over such woes as crude oil and raw materials price hikes, the government presented 819 companies and individuals with diverse orders and government citations, 69 more than last year as well as 1,191 exporting companies with export awards. During the ceremony, President Roh himself conferred the Order of Industrial Merit, Gold Tower on Kim Jing-wan, president of Samsung Heavy Industries, Woo Suk-hyung, CEO-chairman of Sindoricoh, and four others.
Meanwhile, industrial experts share the view that booming exports buttressed the sagging domestic economy. Despite the strides in the domestic export industry, the problem is that Korea's trade imbalance in favor of Japan is exacerbated in an exponential pace, with the trade deficit between Korea and Japan standing at a record high of $20 billion. The accumulated trade deficits have now amounted to $220 billion since 1960 when official trade statistics were available for the first time.
Korea' widening dependence on China emerges as another thorny issue to be addressed. The percentage of Korean exports to China soared from 9 percent in 1998 to 19.6 percent this year, while that of the United States, Korea's largest export market, declined from 20.7 percent in 2001 to 16.9 percent in 2004. China has already become Korea's largest export market last year, and emerged as Korea's largest trading partner in terms of trading volumes, including imports this year. nw