China overtakes the US to become Korea's largest importer again

South Korea's exports in May increased 11.7% from last year, with exports to China reaching their highest level in 19 months. On the 1st, South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy released the "May Export and Import Trends" report with the above information.
The monthly export growth rate turned positive in October last year, and has continued on a similar trend for the past eight months.
Exports in May totaled 58.15 billion dollars (approximately 9.1456 trillion yen), up 11.7% from the same month last year.
This is the highest figure since July 2022, when it was $60.24 billion (approximately 9.47 trillion yen). In addition, the two largest export departures for South Korea, the United States and China, both saw exports
Exports to China in May increased 7.6% to $11.38 billion, the highest figure for the 19 months since October 2022.
Meanwhile, exports to the United States increased by 15.6% to $10.93 billion (approximately 1.719 trillion yen), the largest amount ever recorded for the month of May.