South Korea’s dependence on trade significantly decreased last year due to a slowdown in exports.
According to the Bank of Korea on Sunday, the ratio of the country’s foreign trade to gross national income (GNI) reached 88-point-one percent last year, down ten-point-five percentage points from 2014.
This newest figure shows that the drop in the nation’s dependence on trade is the lowest since 2007, when it posted 81-point-six percent.
The trade-GNI ratio hovered around 60 to 70 percent in the early and mid 2000s, before surpassing 80 percent in 2007.
The ratio topped 100 percent for the first time in 2008 and fell to the 90 percent level in 2009, but rebounded to 113-point-five percent in 2011.
However, the ratio steadily decreased for four straight years since 2011.
The ratio of advanced nations such as the United States and Japan stands at around 30 percent.