South Korea’s trade balance from intellectual property remained in the red in 2014, but the deficit narrowed from a year ago, buoyed by improved trade of copyrights of music, video and computer programs, data showed Tuesday.
Asia’s fourth-largest economy logged a trade deficit of $6.2 billion in the intellectual property sector last year, compared with a $8.1 billion deficit in 2013, according to the data by the Bank of Korea and the Korean Intellectual Property Office.
The biggest deficit was seen in the electronics products sector, with the trade deficit reaching $4.6 billion, accounting for nearly 75 percent of the total deficit.
In contrast, the auto and media sectors continued to post trade surpluses of $800 million and $440 million, respectively.
A BOK official attributed the country’s continued deficit streak to manufacturers as they mostly pay royalty fees to U.S. patent holders for core technology. A recent rise in exports of copyrights in the entertainment and media sector comes in tandem with the global popularity of Korean pop culture, he added.
By country, South Korea posted the biggest trade deficit against the United States, with the figure reaching $6 billion, around 97 percent of the total.
Its trade deficit against Sweden and Britain came in at $970 million and $720 million, respectively, while the country posted a trade surplus of $2.2 against China.
It is the first time the BOK and KIPO released such data at the request of a presidential committee aimed at bolstering Seoul’s trade competitiveness. The two institutions will release quarterly and annual data going forward. (Yonhap)
