Korea on verge of closing export gap with Japan

Korea is rapidly closing the export gap with Japan as the difference shrinks to record lows, fueling optimism that Korea can catch up to their neighbor’s export totals for the first time, industry officials said Thursday. Citing data from the Korea International Trade Association, Japan Tariff Association and International Monetary Fund, officials said that Korea’s exports totaled $579.1 billion from January to October, compared with Japan’s $606.1 billion. The $27 billion gap represents a dramatic reduction from the full-year difference of $122.4 billion in 2024, thanks to Korea’s robust exports of memory chips amid the global artificial intelligence (AI) revolution. “The interim 2025 figure is especially noteworthy, as it is a record low, with two months remaining to watch for further developments,” an industry official said. The official noted that Korea has steadily narrowed its export gap with Japan, from $128.8 billion in 2020 to $85.1 billion in 2023, marking the first time the gap fell below $100 billion. Korea had closed the margin to $3.2 billion in the first half ofWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times