Despite Foreign Dividend Payouts, Current Account Surplus Hits Second-Highest on Record... “Expected to Grow Further in May, Rivaling March Levels” (Comprehensive)

April Current Account Surplus Hits $28.29 Billion, Second-Highest on Record

Surplus Dips from March Record Due to Foreign Dividend Payouts

Semiconductor Export Boom Keeps Goods Account Surplus Above $30 Billion

Cumulative Surplus Exce

In April, South Korea's current account surplus reached 28.29 billion dollars, marking the second-largest monthly surplus on record after the all-time high in March. Despite seasonal factors such as concentrated foreign dividend payments, the sharp rise in semiconductor exports drove a strong goods account surplus, allowing the large surplus trend to continue.

This year, the current account has been on a record-breaking rally, posting the first, second, and third largest surpluses in history consecutively from February to April. The annual forecast for a 250 billion dollar surplus is expected to be easily achieved. As of April, the cumulative current account surplus already stands at 102.67 billion dollars, surpassing the total surplus for 2024 (99.97 billion dollars). With semiconductor exports hitting historic highs, the May current account surplus is also projected to match the record level seen in March.

Semiconductor export boom continues... Goods account exceeds 30 billion dollars for two consecutive months

According to the "April 2026 Balance of Payments (preliminary)" announced by the Bank of Korea on June 5, South Korea posted a current account surplus of 28.29 billion dollars in April. This is the second-largest surplus on record and the highest ever for the month of April. Although it decreased compared to the all-time high in March (37.93 billion dollars), it nearly quintupled from the same period last year (5.7 billion dollars). The country has maintained a surplus for 36 consecutive months since May 2023, marking the longest streak since March 2019.

The main driver of this record performance was the goods account, which accounts for the largest share of the current account. The goods account recorded a surplus of 33.88 billion dollars in April. While this was a slight decrease from the previous month’s record (35.68 billion dollars), it was far higher than the 9.78 billion dollars posted a year earlier, marking the second consecutive month above 30 billion dollars.

The strong goods account surplus was mainly due to the boom in semiconductor exports. Exports amounted to 90.59 billion dollars, a 54.5% increase from a year earlier. Excluding semiconductors, total exports rose by 13.9% over the same period.

In detail, IT items, led by semiconductors and computer peripherals, continued to perform well, while non-IT items were also buoyed by rising petroleum product prices and robust pharmaceutical exports. In April, customs-cleared semiconductor exports surged 171.4% year-on-year to 32.04 billion dollars, driving the 125.9% growth rate for IT item exports. Non-IT items also grew 10.3% year-on-year, supported by increases in petroleum products (39.4%) and chemical products (10.7%).

Imports totaled 56.7 billion dollars, up 16.1% from the same period last year. The sharp rise in oil prices due to the Middle East conflict, as well as a substantial increase in capital goods imports such as semiconductor manufacturing equipment, pushed imports higher for a second straight month. Imports of raw materials increased by 12.3% year-on-year based on customs data. Although crude oil imports rose by 13.1%, this was less than the increase in coal (26.7%) and chemical products (21.3%). Seongwook Yoo, Head of the Financial Statistics Department at the Bank of Korea, explained, "Although the unit price of crude oil imports rose by 44.2%, the volume fell by 20%, partly offsetting the increase." Capital goods imports rose 27.7% year-on-year, led by semiconductor manufacturing equipment (55.5%) and semiconductors themselves (52.8%), reflecting increased investments in semiconductor facilities.

Foreign dividend season leads to 2.53 billion dollar primary income deficit... Travel account turns to deficit

The primary income account posted a deficit of 2.53 billion dollars, mainly driven by a dividend income deficit of 3.02 billion dollars. The deficit widened due to concentrated foreign dividend payments in April and increased dividend payouts by major companies.

The services account, which includes travel and transportation, recorded a deficit of 2.42 billion dollars, a deeper shortfall than the previous month (1.31 billion dollars). The travel account, which posted a surplus in March for the first time in 136 months due to the peak domestic travel season, swung back to a 300 million dollar deficit in April. However, Yoo noted, "The number of inbound travelers in April also exceeded 2 million, showing a significant improvement compared to the same period last year."

Net external assets in the financial account, which reflects assets minus liabilities, increased by 25.46 billion dollars, a smaller gain than in March (36.99 billion dollars). Direct investment saw Koreans’ overseas investments rise by 6.24 billion dollars, while foreign investment in Korea fell by 1.36 billion dollars. In portfolio investment, Koreans’ overseas investments rose by 8.22 billion dollars, mainly in stocks, while foreign investment in Korea increased by 3.51 billion dollars, led by bond investments following Korea's inclusion in the World Government Bond Index (WGBI), despite a decline in stock holdings.

Record-breaking surplus rally expected to continue in May... "Likely to match the record level of March"

Seongwook Yoo, Head of the Financial Statistics Department at the Bank of Korea, is speaking at the April 2026 Balance of Payments (preliminary) briefing held at the Bank of Korea in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 5th. Provided by the Bank of Korea

The current account surplus in May is expected to surpass April's level and approach the all-time high recorded in March. This is because the seasonal factor of foreign dividend payments disappears and semiconductor exports are forecast to exceed the previous month’s performance, continuing the record-breaking trend.

In fact, May semiconductor exports surged by 160.8% year-on-year to 37.16 billion dollars. This far exceeded the previous record set in March (32.8 billion dollars), marking the third consecutive month above 30 billion dollars and the 14th consecutive month of all-time highs on a monthly basis. As a result, total exports rose 53.2% year-on-year to 87.75 billion dollars, and the trade account posted a monthly record surplus of 26.95 billion dollars.

Yoo stated, "In May, semiconductors once again drove exports to the March record level, resulting in the largest-ever trade surplus. The primary income account is also likely to return to surplus as the seasonal factor of concentrated foreign dividend payments dissipates." He added, "We expect the May current account surplus to be on par with March’s record level."

Buoyed by the boom in semiconductor exports, South Korea’s current account surplus is achieving unprecedented results. Compared to major countries, South Korea ranked second after China in the first quarter of this year (74.4 billion dollars). Last year, South Korea ranked fifth after China, Germany, Japan, and Taiwan, but through the first quarter of this year, it has overtaken Japan, Taiwan, and Germany. Yoo explained, "Since 2019, Taiwan has consistently posted a larger current account surplus than Korea, with a gap of about 57 billion dollars last year, but in the first quarter of this year, Korea’s surplus was 12 billion dollars higher."

This is the first time that the current account surplus has exceeded 20 billion dollars for three consecutive months. The cumulative surplus from January to April this year reached 102.67 billion dollars, already surpassing the 100 billion dollar mark and approaching last year’s all-time high (123.05 billion dollars). Yoo said, "The current account surplus for the first half of the year is projected at 151.5 billion dollars as of May, meaning we have already achieved nearly 70% of the annual target. The annual result is expected to meet the forecast of a 250 billion dollar surplus."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.