South Korea’s current account surplus reached $61.46 billion in September, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Thursday, as a record goods balance more than offset a deeper services deficit.
The monthly balance rose from $46.11 billion in August and surpassed June’s former high of $49.73 billion. It was also up from $14.22 billion in September last year. The current account combines balances for goods, services, primary income and secondary income.
The goods balance reached a record $62.75 billion. Exports increased 92.4% from a year earlier to $130.72 billion, while imports rose 29.4% to $67.97 billion.
The services shortfall reached $3.35 billion, compared with $1.68 billion in August. The BOK linked the wider deficit to increased travel-related losses and payments for intellectual property. Primary income recorded a $2.65 billion surplus after equity income increased, while secondary income had a $590 million deficit.
For January through September, the current account surplus totaled $340.66 billion, up from $83.89 billion in the same period last year. South Korea has recorded a monthly surplus since May 2023. Its full-year surplus reached a record $123.05 billion in 2025, above the previous annual high of $105.1 billion in 2015.
The September figure follows South Korea’s April-June current account surplus of $116.63 billion, reported earlier by EconoTimes.
