By Alexander Lee 
 

South Korea's trade balance has been rapidly deteriorating this year due to soaring international commodity prices and China's economic downturn. Photo taken on the afternoon of September 21 at Busan Port's Shinseondae wharf where container unloading is in progress. /Youngnam Daily News
 
A decrease in South Korea's exports is being seen as a signal of a global economic slowdown. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 23rd (local time) that "South Korea, known as the 'weather vane of world trade,' saw its exports decrease by 8.7% during the first 20 days of this month," adding, "This is a signal that demand for semiconductors and other electronic products is plummeting as the purchasing power of countries worldwide weakens." This signifies that the signs of global economic slowdown are clear to the extent that our country, a representative export-driven economy, is seeing a decrease in exports.
WSJ cited the words of Kyung Kye-hyun, CEO of Samsung Electronics, "The semiconductor business outlook seems to be bad for the second half of this year, and there is no momentum for improvement as of now for next year," indicating that the difficulties of Korean exports may increase.
Due to signs of global economic slowdown and the strong dollar causing an increase in import prices, South Korea's trade balance recorded a deficit for five consecutive months from April to August this year. This is the first time such a situation has occurred in about 14 years since the global financial crisis. In September (1st to 20th), a deficit of 4.1 billion dollars was recorded, increasing the possibility of a trade deficit for six consecutive months for the first time in 25 years. As of the 20th of this year, the cumulative trade deficit has reached 29.213 billion dollars, surpassing the record set in 1996 (20.624 billion dollars) on an annual basis.
Reporter Alexander Lee alexanderlee_24@newsyn.co.kr​