TRADE DEFICIT FOR 8TH STRAIGHT MONTH

[Anchor Lead]

Exports, which is vital for the South Korean economy, declined for two consecutive months. With imports rising on the other hand, the nation has recorded a trade deficit for the eighth straight month, which is the longest deficit period its seen ever since the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s.

[Pkg]

Despite the Black Friday sale and World Cup boom, exports of home appliances declined by 25 percent in the month of November. A result of the global economic stagnation. Export numbers have been hit hard. They declined by 14 percent in November on year, recording 51.91 billion dollars. They have contracted for two consecutive months. The decisive factor was a 30-percent decline in semiconductor exports, which is vital for the Korean economy. The reason lies in the falling prices of D-RAM chips due to the lower demand for IT gadgets.

[Soundbite] Moon Dong-min(Industry ministry) : "Many countries around the world are going through an economic slump and price of electronic chips, Korea's major export item, is declining."

Imports, on the other hand, expanded nearly 3 percent in November on the surging imports of energy. The amount of imports of the three major energy sources has nearly doubled on-year. As a result, Korea posted a deficit of over 7 billion dollars last month. The nation has recorded a deficit for the eighth straight month. The accrued trade deficit between January and November this year reaches 42.6 billion dollars. On a positive note, exports of automobiles, mostly of electric vehicles, soared more than 30 percent, and the secondary battery sector is also growing.

[Soundbite] Cho Young-moo(LG Business Research) : "Governments around the world are increasingly focusing their policies on electric cars and eco-friendly energy, which is beneficial for the auto and battery sectors."

The government is determined to overcome the crisis through market diversification and customized strategies.