S. Korea Hit Record Trade Surplus in June

South Korea posted a record trade surplus in June as imports fell at a faster pace than exports amid the global economic recession, the Korea Customs Service said in a report Monday.

The report tallied the surplus at $7.27 billion last month, the highest since data began to be compiled in 1952.

In its earlier preliminary report, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy had put the June surplus at $7.4 billion.

The June figure, a surplus for the fifth consecutive month, brought South Korea's cumulative trade surplus for the first half to $28 billion.

In June, exports fell 12.4 percent from a year earlier to $32.63 billion, while imports plunged 32.9 percent over the same period to $25.36 billion.