S. Korean IT exports fall 19.5 pct in April

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details, comments in lead, paras 3-7)
By Lee Joon-seung
SEOUL, May 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korean exports of information technology (IT)
products declined by a "moderate" 19.5 percent on-year in April as the worldwide
economic slump continued to affect demand, a government report showed Thursday.
Exports of semiconductors, mobile phones and other IT products reached US$9.47
billion last month, with imports dropping 25.2 percent to $5.08 billion for a
surplus of $4.39 billion, according to the report by the Ministry of Knowledge
Economy.
After pulling off 8.5 percent growth in October, South Korea's IT exports
nosedived to minus 39.2 percent in the last month of 2008 when exports reached
just $6.5 billion.
The latest findings showed that while outbound shipments continued to fall off
compared to the year before, total export volume has steadily increased in the
past four months.
"Exports growth of mobile phones, semiconductors and display panels remained in
negative territory vis-a-vis 2008 although the extent of the decline has
decreased, which may be an indication of some improvement," said Seo Seok-jin,
head of the ministry's IT policy coordination division.
Overseas sales of mobile phones and display panels were down 8.4 percent and 8.5
percent respectively in the cited month, while semiconductor exports plunged 26.2
percent. Exports of other IT products, including TVs, printers, hard disk drives
and set-top boxes also fell 4-37 percent in the cited month.
"Despite the overall drop, exports to the United States edged up 0.6 percent last
month, while semiconductor sales in Japan rose 0.5 percent," the official said,
hinting that there are signs that things may turn around in the coming months.
The ministry in charge of the country's industrial policies and trade promotion
said exports to China reached $3.65 billion, followed by $1.43 billion for the
United States and $1.40 billion for the European Union.
Imports of electronic parts and components reached $3.11 billion in April, with
$630 million worth of computers and related products being brought into the
country.
From January through April, IT exports were tallied at $45.20 billion with
imports reaching $25.83 billion for a surplus of $19.37 billion.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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