Merchandise Imports in Korea
In the year 2024, the merchandise imports in Korea was USD 631.8 billion, compared to USD 525.5 billion in 2014 and USD 642.6 billion in 2023. It averaged USD 543.1 billion over the last decade. For more imports information, visit our dedicated page.
Korea Merchandise Imports Chart
Note: This chart displays Imports (USD billion) for Korea from 2024 to 2023.
Source: Macrobond.
Korea Merchandise Imports Data
2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Merchandise Imports (USD bn) | 468 | 615 | 731 | 643 | 632 |
Merchandise Imports (ann. var. %) | -7.1 | 31.5 | 18.9 | -12.1 | -1.7 |
Merchandise exports grow at a faster pace in April
Latest reading: Merchandise exports rose 3.7% annually in April, following March’s 2.8% increase and beating market forecasts for a decline. Once again, IT exports—particularly semiconductors—were the key driver thanks to surging global AI demand. That said, after adjusting for working days exports were lower year on year, driven by weaker sales to the U.S. Meanwhile, merchandise imports declined 2.7% on an annual basis in April (March: +2.2% yoy). As a result, the merchandise trade balance improved from the previous month, recording a USD 4.9 billion surplus in April (March 2025: USD 4.8 billion surplus; April 2024: USD 1.3 billion surplus). Lastly, the trend improved, with the 12-month trailing merchandise trade balance recording a USD 54.2 billion surplus in April, compared to the USD 50.6 billion surplus in March.
Panelist insight: On the trade outlook, Nomura analysts said: “Despite the potential threat of tariffs on chips and tech products, we expect chip exports to see tailwinds, with stronger chip prices and solid AI-related demand. In addition, tariff uncertainty will continue to drive front-loading demand, which may support rising prices in legacy chips. On the non-chip sector, however, we expect tariff uncertainty to remain a large drag, partly offsetting solid chip export growth.”
How should you choose a forecaster if some are too optimistic while others are too pessimistic? FocusEconomics collects Korean merchandise imports projections for the next ten years from a panel of 5 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. By averaging all forecasts, upside and downside forecasting errors tend to cancel each other out, leading to the most reliable merchandise imports forecast available for Korean merchandise imports.
Download one of our sample reports to visualize what a Consensus Forecast is and see our Korean merchandise imports projections.
Want to get access to the full dataset of Korean merchandise imports forecasts? Send an email to info@focus-economics.com.
Latest Global Trade News
-
China: Merchandise exports grow at a milder pace in May Latest reading: Merchandise exports climbed 4.8% on an annual basis in May, on the heels of April’s 8.1% rise and... -
Taiwan: Merchandise exports accelerate in May Latest reading: Merchandise exports shot up 38.6% year-on-year in May (April: +29.9% year-on-year). May’s result marked the fastest expansion since... -
Germany: Merchandise exports fall in April as boost from front-loading ahead of U.S. tariff hikes fades Latest reading: Merchandise exports shrank 1.7% month on month in seasonally adjusted terms in April, contrasting March’s 1.2% rise and... -
Germany: Merchandise exports fall in April as boost from front-loading ahead of U.S. tariff hikes fades Latest reading: Merchandise exports shrank 1.7% month on month in seasonally adjusted terms in April, contrasting March’s 1.2% rise and... -
Philippines: Merchandise exports rise at a softer pace in April Latest reading: Merchandise exports rose 7.0% on an annual basis in April, following March’s 8.7% increase. Meanwhile, merchandise imports fell... -
Thailand: Merchandise exports rise at a more moderate rate in April Latest reading: Merchandise exports rose 9.8% over the same month last year in April, on the heels of March’s 17.8%... -
Indonesia: Merchandise exports grow at a slower pace in March Latest reading: Merchandise exports increased 0.6% over the same month last year in March (February: +13.7% year-on-year). March’s outturn marked...