Data released on Friday by the Bank of Korea indicates that South Korea's current account surplus with the United States experienced its first yearly decrease in six years, primarily due to a widening deficit in the services account. Concurrently, the nation's current account deficits with China and Japan also expanded.

The figures from the central bank show South Korea's total current account surplus with the U.S. for last year was $111.42 billion, a figure lower than the record high of $116.97 billion established in 2024.

Bolstered by increased exports of semiconductors and smartphones, the country's goods trade surplus with the United States grew by 2.53% year-on-year to reach $111.98 billion last year. However, the services trade deficit widened from $8.88 billion the previous year to $14.62 billion.

According to the central bank's data, South Korea's current account deficit with China for last year was $25.32 billion, marking an increase of 7.97% compared to the year before.

The current account deficit with Japan also expanded by 13% last year, reaching $20.3 billion.

Data from the Bank of Korea reveals that, driven by robust exports, South Korea's current account surplus with the European Union grew by 9.9% year-on-year to $24.42 billion last year.

Last year, South Korea's current account surplus with Southeast Asian nations amounted to $71.84 billion, reflecting a 13.24% increase from the previous year. In contrast, the current account with the Middle East region recorded a deficit of $49.75 billion, which represents a 26.8% decline year-on-year.

Overall data shows that South Korea's total current account surplus for 2025 expanded significantly to $123 billion, a sharp increase from $99.97 billion the previous year.