On Friday, data from the Bank of Korea revealed that South Korea had the second highest surplus in the trade of intellectual property rights (IP) during the January-June period of 2023. The nation’s surplus in the IP account was $330 million, compared to a $1.64 billion shortfall in the second half of 2022.
Exports of goods and services subject to IP payments reached $12.01 billion in the first half, while imports went up to $20.89 billion from $11.69 billion. This marks the second largest surplus in the IP trade on a semi-annual basis since the second half of 2019 when the figure was $350 million.
The central bank attributed the surplus to the overseas success of Korean pop music, dramas, films, and webtoons. South Korea registered the biggest surplus of $1.52 billion in the trade of cultural and art copyrights, which made up for a $1.08 billion deficit in the trade of patents and other industrial intellectual property.
sam@yna.co.kr
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