South Korea recorded the second-largest current account surplus among major economies in the second quarter of 2026, with a figure of US$116.63 billion — surpassing the combined surpluses of Germany and Japan for the first time since comparable data became available in Q1 1996. The milestone, revealed through International Monetary Fund (IMF) data available on the Bank of Korea's Economic Statistics System, reflects a dramatic acceleration in the country's external position, driven overwhelmingly by a semiconductor export boom.

How South Korea Stacks Up Globally

Only China, with a surplus of $193.72 billion, ranked higher in the April–June 2026 period. Germany came in third at $52.28 billion, followed by Japan at $50.62 billion. Their combined surplus of $102.9 billion still fell $13.73 billion short of South Korea's figure — the first time since records began that Seoul has outpaced Berlin and Tokyo together on this measure.

South Korea's surplus also more than quadrupled compared to the same period a year earlier, when it stood at $28.39 billion. By contrast, Germany's surplus grew just 11.9% year-on-year, and Japan's by a modest 5%, underscoring how sharply South Korea's external position has diverged from its peers.

Semiconductor Exports: The Engine Behind the Surge

The primary driver of the surplus expansion was a sharp rise in chip exports, fuelled by rising semiconductor prices and robust global demand. According to the Ministry of Data and Statistics, South Korea's semiconductor exports soared 181.6% on-year to $113.89 billion in the second quarter — a figure that alone nearly accounts for the entire current account surplus. This is the latest indicator of how deeply South Korea's external trade balance has become tied to the global semiconductor cycle, particularly demand from data centre operators and AI hardware buildouts worldwide.

Labour Market Strain: Temporary Workers Hit 31-Year Low

Set against the trade data, South Korea's domestic labour market presents a more sobering picture. The combined number of temporary and daily workers fell by 95,000 from a year earlier to 5.73 million in the July–September 2026 period — the lowest third-quarter reading since 1995, according to an analysis of microdata from the Ministry of Data and Statistics.

Of that total, daily workers declined by 38,000 to a record third-quarter low of 833,000. The construction sector bore the heaviest toll: daily construction workers dropped by 28,000 to 381,000, accounting for 74.6% of the overall daily-worker decline. Workers in their 50s saw the steepest fall, down 21,000.

Temporary workers — those on contracts of at least one month but under a year — fell by 57,000 to 4.89 million. The accommodation and food services sector recorded the largest decline in temporary headcount, shedding 30,000, followed by construction and information and communications, which each lost 22,000 workers.

What the Divergence Signals

The juxtaposition of a record-breaking trade surplus and a deteriorating informal labour market illustrates a structural tension in South Korea's economy: export-led growth concentrated in high-tech manufacturing is not generating proportionate employment at the lower end of the labour market. The prolonged construction slump — itself linked to a cooling property market — is compounding job losses among the country's most economically vulnerable workers. This divergence is likely to feature prominently in upcoming policy debates around domestic stimulus and welfare support.

Outlook

With global AI infrastructure investment remaining strong, South Korea's semiconductor exporters are well-positioned to sustain elevated surpluses into the second half of the year. However, any softening in chip prices or a slowdown in US and Chinese tech spending could quickly reverse the current account gains. On the labour side, a sustained recovery in construction activity will be key to halting the slide in daily and temporary employment, which policymakers are reportedly monitoring closely.