SEOUL, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's export rose in the first 20 days of February on more working days, caused by the Lunar New Year holiday, customs office data showed Friday.
The outbound shipment reached 26.3 billion U.S. dollars during the February 1-20 period, up 12.4 percent from the same period of last year, according to the Korea Customs Service.
It was attributable to more working days. The Lunar New Year's holiday moved to January this year from February last year, raising the number of business days by 3 three days this month.
The daily average export declined 9.3 percent in the cited period.
Shipment to China, South Korea's biggest trading partner, shrank 3.7 percent in the 20-day period, but those to the United States, Vietnam and the European Union (EU) increased in double figures.
Exports for semiconductors and auto parts grew in double digits, and shipment of telecommunication devices such as smartphone added 8.2 percent.
Exports for oil products, cars and ships declined in the cited period.
During the 20-day period, import climbed 4.7 percent to 25.6 billion dollars, sending the trade surplus to 0.7 billion dollars.
