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S. Korea becomes less trade-dependent in 2019: BOK

By Yonhap

Published : June 21, 2021 - 13:10

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Cargo containers are stacked at a port in Busan, 453 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on June 1, 2021, in this file photo. (Yonhap) Cargo containers are stacked at a port in Busan, 453 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on June 1, 2021, in this file photo. (Yonhap)
South Korea's economy became slightly less trade-dependent in 2019, with imports accounting for more than 14 percent of overall supplies here, a central bank report showed Monday.

The country's overall industrial output amounted to 5,097.5 trillion won ($4.49 trillion) in 2019, compared with 5,074.2 trillion won in 2018, according to the report from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

Domestic output accounted for 85.6 percent of the total, up from 85.5 percent in 2018, while imports accounted for the remaining 14.4 percent, down from 14.5 percent in 2018.

South Korea also became less import-dependent for its own exports.

The ratio of domestic commodities to intermediate inputs, or the localization rate, rose to 78.2 percent in 2019 from 77.7 percent the year before.

Imports accounted for 12.3 percent of overall intermediate inputs in 2019, down from 12.7 percent the previous year.

"This was due mainly to falls in the import prices of raw materials, including oil and natural gas," the BOK said.

Exports accounted for 28.9 percent of total demand in 2019, down from 30.5 percent in 2018.

Meanwhile, the service industry continued to expand its share in total output, accounting for 47.6 percent of total output in 2019, up from 46.2 percent in 2018.

Manufactured goods accounted for 41.7 percent of total output, compared with 43.1 percent in 2018, according to the BOK.

Both the manufacturing and service sectors needed fewer workers in 2019.

The workers coefficient of manufactured goods was unchanged at 4.7 in 2019, while that of services fell to 9.2 from 9.4 over the cited period.

The workers coefficient refers to the number of workers per billion won in output. (Yonhap)