SEOUL, South Korea / AsiaWire.IO / – South Korea’s current account surplus reached $116.63 billion in the second quarter, the second-largest among major economies after China, central bank data showed. The surplus was larger than those of Germany and Japan combined, Yonhap News Agency reported. China led with a surplus of $193.72 billion in the April-June period. Germany came third at $52.28 billion, while Japan recorded $50.62 billion.
Together, Germany and Japan posted a surplus of $102.90 billion, falling $13.73 billion short of South Korea’s total. South Korea had never before exceeded the two countries’ combined surplus since comparable data for all three became available in the first quarter of 1996. Robust semiconductor exports powered the gain. Chips remain the main engine of the country’s export growth.
Bank of Korea data showed the surplus building month by month through the quarter. It came to $28.29 billion in April and $38.61 billion in May. June brought a record monthly surplus of $49.73 billion. For the first half of 2026, the surplus reached $191.01 billion, the highest ever for the period. June was also the 38th consecutive month in which the country recorded a surplus.
Exports top $100 billion as chips surge
June exports jumped 84.5% year on year to $112.37 billion, the first time the monthly total had passed $100 billion. Semiconductor shipments rose 196.9% from a year earlier. The goods account posted a surplus of $47.89 billion. The data showed the scale of the global chip upcycle and its effect on South Korea’s external balance.
Momentum carried into the third quarter. The surplus was $42.08 billion in July and $46.11 billion in August, the second-highest on record. Exports grew 82.1% to $104.8 billion in August, and imports increased 23.8% to $57.99 billion, leaving a goods surplus of $46.81 billion. August marked the 40th straight month of surplus and the third consecutive month above $40 billion.
Annual total already double last year’s record
From January to August, the cumulative surplus reached $279.2 billion, nearly four times the figure for the same period in 2025. The total is more than double the annual record of $123.05 billion set last year. Before 2025, the highest yearly surplus was $105.1 billion, recorded in 2015. In August, the services account showed a deficit of $1.68 billion, while primary income was in surplus by $1.92 billion.
Chip exports more than tripled in August on a customs-clearance basis. Gains remain concentrated in semiconductors and petroleum products, which rose 64.9% in August. Car exports fell 30.1% and ship exports dropped 45.2% in the same month. Japan, by contrast, has posted trade deficits for five straight months as import costs rise. The Bank of Korea is due to publish its September balance of payments figures in the coming weeks.
