韩国央行-韩国服务出口：现状与未来方向（英）

- 1/35 -1. Since the global financial crisis, the proportion of goods trade in global trade has declined, while the share and importance of services trade have increased significantly from 19.4 percent in 2011 to 24.1 percent in 2023. Rising uncertainty in the global trade environment has made it difficult for goods trade to grow at a rapid pace as seen in the past. At the same time, Korea's economy faces intensified competition from China in the global market, driven by its growing technological capabilities. In this regard, it is essential for Korea to focus on service exports as a new engine of growth.2. Korea's service exports have been growing slowly and maintained a relatively low share of the global market compared to major economies. Externally, Korea lags behind advanced countries in high-value-added services such as law and consulting, and behind countries like China and India in low-cost services such as outsourcing. Internally, Korea's service exports have largely been confined to auxiliary roles supporting goods exports such as transportation and sales support rather than developing into globally competitive offerings capable of actively participating in global value chains GVCs.3. However, while overall growth in service exports has been modest, certain sectors are showing strong potential for rapid growth. In particular, exports in the intellectual service* sector are expanding rapidly in the global market, with Korea experiencing No. 2025-06BANK OF KOREABOK Issue NoteMarch 20, 2025Korea's Service Exports: Current Status and Future DirectionChoi JoonKim TaehoAhn ByeongtakLee DonggyuEconomist, Macroeconomic Analysis Team, Research Department, Bank of KoreaTel. 02-759-4211joon@bok.or.krEconomist, Balance of Payments Team, Economic Statistics Department 1Tel. 02-759-4333xogh1221@bok.or.krJunior Economist, Macroeconomic Analysis Team, Research Department, Bank of KoreaTel. 02-759-5233abt@bok.or.krJunior Economist, Balance of Payments Team, Economic Statistics Department 1Tel. 02-759-4335dglee@bok.or.kr- 2/35 -particularly faster growth. According to the Intellectual Services Trade Statistics newly compiled and published by the Bank of Korea in March 2025, Korea's intellectual service exports grew at an average annual rate of 13.4 percent from 2010 to 2024, playing a key role in driving the overall service exports growth 3.8 percent. Intellectual service exports are made up of charges for the use of intellectual property 54.0 percent, professional and business services 27.0 percent, information and communication services 14.1 percent, and cultural and leisure services 4.9 percent. All categories recorded double-digit growth over the period.* Defined as a service that is knowledge-intensive and primarily traded in digital forms.4. The rapid growth of Korea's intellectual service exports can largely be attributed to two key factors: (1) the growing trend of convergence between manufacturing and services, and (2) the enhanced global compet