S. Korea's exports to top US$400 bln mark

SEOUL, Dec. 7 (Yonhap) -- Despite a global economic downturn, South Korea's accumulative exports are expected to surpass the US$400 billion mark soon, bringing the nation's economic ranking closer to that of major industrialized economies, a trade association said Sunday.

Overseas shipments by South Korea, which amounted to $357 billion to date as of
end of November, are expected to reach the landmark level on Monday, the Korea
International Trade Association said.
The nation's exports, a key growth engine of Asia's third-largest economy, rose
to $100 million in 1964 and later to $10 billion in 1977. The country's offshore
shipments climbed to $100 billion in 1995.
The expected feat would be made relatively faster than that of the 10 other
nations that achieved the goal earlier, as it took 17.2 years on average for the
countries' exports to grow from $100 billion to $400 billion, the association
said.
South Korea houses the world's leading shipbuilders and two of the top five
mobile phone manufacturers in the world. The number of items exported amounted to
8,641 so far this year, which have been shipped to some 230 nations.
The country's exports, however, have contracted rapidly in recent months due to
the worldwide economic slump triggered by the U.S. financial crisis. South Korea
reported a 18.3 percent on-year drop in exports in November, the worst monthly
showing since December 2001, according to the government.