South Korea became more dependent on trade in 2024 as the semiconductor industry recovered strongly from its previous year’s slump. Bank of Korea data showed overall industrial transactions rose 4.6% year over year to 7,113.6 trillion won ($5.13 trillion). External transactions involving exports and imports represented 31.1% of the total, up 1.5 percentage points, while domestic output’s share declined slightly to 85%. Imports accounted for 15%, also edging up 0.1 percentage point. The central bank said the semiconductor rebound significantly changed the broader structure of the economy.