(2nd LD) S. Korea's trade surplus tops US$5 bln in May

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details in paras 4, 7-8, 10; ADDS with more information,
comments in paras 5, 9)
By Lee Joon-seung
SEOUL, June 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's trade surplus reached US$5.15 billion in
May mainly due to a sharp drop in imports, a government report showed Monday.

The country's exports came to $28.2 billion last month, falling 28.3 percent
on-year, with imports plummeting 40.4 percent to around $23.1 billion, according
to the report by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.
The monthly surplus is smaller than the record $5.78 billion tallied for April
but is much higher than the $3.8 billion reported for April 1998 when the country
was struggling to cope with the Asian financial crisis by cutting back spending.
The ministry also said that while export growth declined at a faster pace than
April's 19.6 percent negative growth, the country shipped out $1.28 billion worth
of goods on average every day in May from $1.27 billion per day tallied for the
month before. This marks the fourth straight month that daily outbound shipment
numbers have moved up.
The latest report said display panels recorded on-year export growth in the cited
month, with ships, mobile communication equipment, semiconductors and autos all
posting negative growth.
Outbound shipments of display panels were up 6 percent, while those for mobile
communication and ships were down 13 percent and 17 percent, respectively.
Exports of semiconductors and autos plunged 24 percent and 53 percent,
respectively, compared with the year before as the economic slump sapped demand
for locally made goods.
The ministry added that the sharper decline in exports last month was due in part
to more holidays.
"Many companies were closed for five straight days at the start of the month to
reduce inventory, which is two less working days than April and 0.5 less working
days than May 2008," said Lee Dong-geun, a deputy minister in charge of trade and
investment promotion.
In the first five days of last month, the country exported $1.5 billion worth of
goods versus $2.6 billion in the same five day period in April.
Lee, however, cautioned that South Korea's exports have not fully recovered, and
predicted they may experience 20 percent negative growth until the end of
September.
"The size of the trade surplus will continue to decline gradually in the coming
months as the positive effects of the foreign exchange rate and rising crude oil
prices exert influence on overall numbers," the deputy minister said.
South Korea said earlier in the year that the country will likely post a trade
surplus of $20 billion this year, compared to a deficit of 13.2 billion logged
for 2008.
The latest report said exports to Oceania grew 168.4 percent annually, with
numbers for the United States, China, Japan, and the European Union all falling
by double digits as consumers and businesses around the world cut back on
spending.
In the first five months of this year, the country exported $133.3 billion worth
of goods, with imports reaching $118.8 billion for a surplus of just under $14.5
billion.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
(END)