South Korean exports fall in October on nationwide labor strike, Samsung’s massive recall

Exports in South Korea fell during the month of October, following nationwide labor strike amid Samsung’s massive recall of its Galaxy Note 7, following explosions of its batteries in the global market.

South Korean exports fell 3.2 percent from a year earlier to 41.9 billion U.S. dollars in October, data released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) showed Tuesday, while imports were down 5.4 percent y/y. The exports rebounded in 20 months during August, but the figure turned downward in September and October.

The sluggish exports were led by falls in smartphone and car shipments, which were caused by partial strikes among unionized workers in the country's top automaker Hyundai Motor and the permanent end of production and sales of Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 smartphones.

South Korea's smartphone exports tumbled 28.1 percent in October compared with a year ago. Samsung decided on Sep 2 to recall about 2.5 million Note 7 devices globally on reports of catching fire and heating up, just two weeks after its debut.

South Korea's trade surplus stood at USD7.2 billion, up from USD6.9 billion in September. Ship exports rebounded from September, jumping 49.4 percent in annual terms as orders for 23 vessels were completed.

Meanwhile, the Bank of Korea (BoK) is expected to remain on hold, meeting market consensus of a policy easing early next year.