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Korea's technology trade reached its second-highest tally ever at $29.9 billion in 2020, down 5.5 percent from the previous year, government data showed Friday.
Technology trade refers to the country's international transactions such as the use of patents, licenses and technical services, as opposed to tech products, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT.
The ICT ministry said outbound technology transfers amounted to $12.8 billion in 2020, compared with imports of $17.1 billion, leading to a trade deficit of $4.3 billion that highlights Korea's reliance on foreign technology.
The ratio of tech exports to imports fell to 0.75 in 2020 after reaching an all-time high of 0.77 the previous year.
By country, Korea had the largest technology trade with the United States at $8.43 billion, accounting for 28.2 percent of the total.
Korea also had a technology trade deficit of $3.32 billion with the U.S., with the ministry data showing that U.S. technology accounted for 34.4 percent of South Korea's total inbound transfers.
China emerged as the largest technology export destination in 2020, exceeding the U.S. from the previous year, as outbound transfers jumped 17.3 percent year-on-year to $3 billion on the increased exports of content.
In terms of technology trade surpluses, Korea had the largest surplus with China at $2.4 billion. (Yonhap)
