Industry
S. Korea's data market is estimated at $19 bn last year
According to the results of a survey on the current status of the data industry in 2022, released by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Data Agency on April 18, the size of the data market in 2021 was estimated to be KRW 22.9 trillion (USD 17.37 billion), and the estimated figure for last year was KRW 25.05 trillion (USD 19.0 billion). The ministry reported that the size of the market has shown a steady growth rate of 11.9 percent on average over the past three years. The number of people working in the data industry last year increased by 12,000 from the previous year to 406,000. The survey was conducted by surveying a sample of 1,375 data industry companies selected from among 8,940 companies and 1,200 other industry samples through a questionnaire.
Online sales of travel services more than double in Q1 on eased virus curbs
Online sales of travel and transportation services more than doubled on-year in the first quarter of 2023 on eased COVID-19 restrictions, data showed on May 1. The value of online transactions of travel and transportation services amounted to KRW 5.51 trillion (USD 4.11 billion) during the January-March period, compared with KRW 2.6 trillion tallied a year earlier, according to data from Statistics Korea. It is the largest amount since the statistics agency began compiling related data in 2017, and the growth was also the sharpest ever.
Trade & Commerce
Farm goods exports hit record high in Q1
S. Korea's exports of agriculture products reached an all-time high in the first quarter of the year on the back of strong demand for kimchi and processed foods, data showed on April 2. The record amount of USD 1.98 billion represents a 13.7 percent rise from the previous year, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. By category, outbound shipments of fresh products remained sluggish, but those of processed goods increased 9.3 percent to hit USD 359 million. The ministry said exports of kimchi, a traditional Korean side dish usually made of fermented cabbage, salt and hot peppers, soared 54.4 percent to reach USD 47 million. Outbound shipments of ginseng-related products, widely consumed as health supplements in S. Korea, also grew to reach USD 230 million last year amid the growing popularity of health products during the pandemic. Exports of processed rice goods, such as home meals like porridge, grew 14.7 percent to USD 1.62 billion, while those of instant noodles gained 18.9 percent to USD 157 million.
*This article is extracted from Invest KOREA information center, 2023