[Monitor] Korea’s exports sink 20% in first 20 days of May

South Korea’s exports dropped 20.3 percent in the first 20 days of May compared to the same period last year, data from the Korea Customs Service showed Thursday.

Disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the value of exports reached $20.3 billion, compared to $25.5 billion a year ago.

By sector, exports of memory chips increased 13.4 percent, while shipments of automobiles sank 58.6 percent.

By country, exports dropped 1.7 percent to China and 27.9 percent to the United States.

So far this year, the outbound shipments by Korea has seen a 9.5 percent decline. 

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)