Seoul: Trade Minister Cheong In-kyo announced on Monday that South Korea's exports are expected to slow down this month because of fewer business days resulting from the Lunar New Year holiday. Cheong's statement came during a meeting with government officials after the government declared next Monday as a temporary national holiday, thereby extending the holiday period to six days, ending next Thursday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, this extension reduces the number of business days in January by four compared to the previous year when the Lunar New Year holiday occurred in February. Cheong noted that the slowdown is also due to decreased demand from major Asian trade partners who are observing holidays at the same time.

Despite this temporary slowdown, South Korea's outbound shipments saw a 6.6 percent increase in December, marking the 15th consecutive month of year-on-year growth. The country also recorded a trade surplus for 19 consecutive months as of December. For the entire year of 2024, exports rose by 8.2 percent year-on-year, reaching a new annual high of US$683.8 billion, surpassing the previous record of $683.6 billion set in 2022.

Cheong mentioned that while advanced, emerging, and developing nations are all expected to experience stable economic growth in line with last year's figures, uncertainties remain in the trade environment. These uncertainties arise from the inception of the new U.S. administration and ongoing geopolitical tensions. The trade minister emphasized that the government will continue to maintain close communication with the private sector to ensure prompt responses to these challenges.