<Anchor>

Exports plunged last month as the world economy shrank with Corona 19. The surplus march in Korea's trade balance, which lasted for over 8 years, has also ceased. The situation is better than in other countries, but the government judges that it is difficult to predict when exports will recover.

Reporter Chan-Keun Park reports first.

<Reporter> In the last

six weeks, as a result of a massive blockade to prevent the spread of corona, 30 million people have filed for new unemployment benefits.

The situation was similar in Europe.

Subsequent blockades and reduced global demand due to factory shutdowns have led to a decrease in our exports.

Exports last month were $ 3.69 billion, down 24.3% from the same period last year.

Revenue decreased 15.9% to $ 37.8 billion.

The trade balance ended a surplus streak in 99 months, with a deficit of $ 950 million.

In addition to petroleum products affected by the drop in international oil prices, auto parts and ships were hit hard.

The government emphasized that the trade deficit was larger than the imports, which was different from the situation where exports and exports all plummeted during the financial crisis.

Last month, imports of capital goods increased by 1.3%, and imports of consumer goods and intermediate goods were also not so large that it could be interpreted that domestic manufacturing and domestic contraction were not as severe as other countries.

The problem is that it is difficult to expect export recovery in the short term.

[Sung Tae-yoon / Professor, Department of Economics, Yonsei University: If the export slump due to the weakening of the global division of labor system intensifies, it will continue to lead to the economic slowdown… .] The

World Trade Organization predicts that global trade in goods can drop by up to 32%.

Slow economic recovery in major export partners could worsen business performance and increase employment instability in full-time jobs.

(Video coverage: Mincheol Kim, Video editing: Soyoung Lee, CG: Hyunjung Joong)

▶ Trade deficit in 99 months… "The economic shock is starting now"