President Lee sees second-place current account surplus as “a major wave of opportunity for our economy”

[Financial News] On the 25th, President Lee Jae Myung said that “a major wave of opportunity is rising for our economy, too,” after the country’s current account surplus ranked second among major economies, behind China. He stressed that the benefits of economic growth should lead to improved quality of life for all citizens.
That day, President Lee shared on X (formerly Twitter) a media report saying that Korea’s current account surplus in the second quarter of this year had exceeded the combined total for Germany and Japan, and wrote this.
President Lee quoted former U.S. President John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s remark, “A rising tide lifts all boats,” then explained, “In the second quarter of this year, our country’s current account surplus exceeded the combined surplus of Germany and Japan.”
He went on to describe the achievements our companies have made in global markets, including semiconductors, a key industry in the AI era, and assessed, “Korea is now moving beyond being a country that follows advanced economies to become a leading nation shaping the course of the global economy.” He stressed, “We must seize this opportunity to boost industrial competitiveness and raise the potential growth rate.”
In particular, President Lee emphasized that the benefits of economic growth must lead to tangible changes in people’s lives. “What matters is ensuring that this wave of growth becomes a force that changes everyone’s lives,” he said, adding, “The vitality of the economy must lead to more investment and jobs, better incomes and a more comfortable standard of living.”
He added, “Economic growth is necessary to make people’s lives better,” and “I will continue to strengthen the foundations for growth so that Korea’s leap forward leads to a better tomorrow for each and every citizen.”
Meanwhile, according to International Monetary Fund (IMF) statistics included in the Bank of Korea’s Economic Statistics System (ECOS), Korea’s current account surplus in the second quarter of this year was $116.63 billion, ranking second among 36 major countries for which data are available, behind China at $193.72 billion. That was $13.74 billion more than the combined surplus of Germany ($52.28 billion) and Japan ($50.62 billion), which totaled $102.89 billion. This is the first time since the first quarter of 1996, the earliest point for which data are available for all three countries, that Korea’s current account surplus has exceeded even the combined total for Germany and Japan.
[email protected] Choi Jong-geun Reporter