Seoul: South Korea's exports jumped 17.3 percent from a year earlier in the first 10 days of December, data showed Thursday. Outbound shipments reached US$20.58 billion in the Dec. 1-10 period, compared with $17.54 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.

According to Yonhap News Agency, imports went up 8 percent on-year to $20.65 billion during the period, resulting in a trade deficit of $70 million, the data showed.