South Korea’s technology exports rose 2 percent to hit an all-time high of US$15.2 billion in 2022, driven by increased sales to the United States, government data showed Monday.

Technology imports also added 5 percent on-year to record $19.6 billion during the same period, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Science and ICT.

Due to the sharper increase in imports, the country’s trade deficit in tech expanded 17.1 percent on-year to $4.4 billion.

By country, exports to the U.S. jumped 40 percent on-year to $4.5 billion in 2022 thanks to higher demand for electronics and game techs.

Imports from the U.S. decreased 2.4 percent to $6.8 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $2.4 billion.

Exports to China dipped 17.7 percent to $2.6 billion due to lower demand for game techs, while imports soared 77.6 percent to $1.8 billion on semiconductor techs.

The ministry said the value of South Korea’s technology trade rose tenfold over the past 20 years and the ratio of exports to imports also impro
ved more than threefold thanks to the stronger competitiveness of the country’s science technologies.

Source: Yonhap News Agency