Latest government data shows... the trade volume between Korea and the U.S. hit a record high last year.
Our Ko Roon-hee explains.
It's been seven years since Seoul and Washington's free trade deal came into force.

And according to Korea's trade ministry on Thursday..., the trade volume between the two sides last year hit a record high of around 131-point-6 billion U.S. dollars.
This is an increase of more than 10-percent compared to the previous year... and the trade volume has been increasing for two consecutive years.

Korea's exports to the U.S. rose by 6-percent in 2018...thanks to more outbound shipments of semiconductors and petroleum goods.
Chip exports jumped by more than 90-percent... thanks to more investment from data centers boosting demand for semiconductors.
In terms of petroleum goods, the ministry attributed the trend to the increase in international oil prices.
However, auto exports decreased by almost 7-percent... due to an increase in competition in the U.S. market.

Korea's imports from the U.S. also grew by more than 16-percent... mainly due to more inbound shipments of liquefied petroleum gas and natural gas.
LPG shipments from the U.S. increased by more than 50-percent compared to the previous year.
The ministry attributed the rise in shipments from the U.S. to cheaper prices compared to other regions like the Middle East.
Because of the increase in imports, the amount of trade surplus decreased compared to the previous year.

The ministry added that the effect of the revised Seoul-Washington free trade agreement which took force in January will be reflected in next year's data.
Ko Roon-hee, Arirang News.