South Korea's second-quarter current account surplus exceeds the combined total of Germany and Japan for the first time.

South Korea's current account surplus in the second quarter exceeded the combined surpluses of Germany and Japan, two major global manufacturing powers. The semiconductor export boom pushed the trade surplus to a record high, while expanded overseas investment drove dividend and interest income higher, jointly contributing to this growth. The International Monetary Fund forecasts that South Korea's full-year current account surplus this year will rank second globally. According to the Bank of Korea's economic statistics system on the 25th, IMF statistics show South Korea's second-quarter current account surplus at $116.63 billion, ranking second globally; higher than the combined value of third-place Germany at $52.276 billion and fourth-place Japan at $50.615 billion. The Bank of Korea said that since 1996, South Korea's current account surplus has exceeded the sum of Germany and Japan for the first time.