S. Korea's travel account logs first surplus in over 7 years

SEOUL, Nov. 4 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's travel account balance swung into the black for the first time in over seven years in October as a weaker won brought down spending on overseas travel, the central bank said Tuesday.

The country's travel account surplus reached US$370 million in October, a
turnaround from a deficit of $390 million in September, according to the Bank of
Korea (BOK).
It was the first surplus since April 2001 when the travel account logged a
surplus of $30.4 million, the BOK said. The October figure was the largest
monthly surplus in 10 years, it added.
"The surplus in the travel account is largely thanks to a softer won, which led
Koreans to reduce their expenditures on overseas trips and study abroad while
more foreigners traveled to Korea," the BOK said in a statement.
The won has fallen almost 26 percent to the dollar so far this year, burdening
overseas travelers and students. Higher spending on overseas travel and studies
has been blamed for a chronic shortfall of the country's service account.
A cumulative shortfall of the travel account reached $8.39 billion in the
January-October period, down from $12.81 billion a year ago, the central bank
added.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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