South Korea's exports are expected to increase year-on-year for the 15th consecutive month in December, but the growth momentum is expected to slow down in the coming year.

A survey released on Friday showed that South Korea's exports in December are expected to achieve year-on-year growth for the 15th consecutive month. However, analysts believe that the momentum of export growth in the coming year may slow down as concerns about possible tariffs by the United States heat up. According to the median results of a survey of ten economists, they expect South Korea's exports in December to increase by 4.0% year-on-year, a further expansion from the 1.4% growth in November. Although this would mark 15 consecutive months of year-on-year export growth for South Korea, analysts believe that the speed of export growth in the future year will slow down as demand for South Korean products (except semiconductors) weakens. Ha Keon-hyeong, an analyst at New Han Securities, said, "The uncertainty in trade policy since Trump's victory continues to bring risks to South Korean exporters." "This is partially the reason why some manufacturers are reducing production." Stephen Lee, chief economist at Meritz Securities Research Center, said, "South Korea's automobile production in December was affected by labor strikes, and overall export momentum is weakening, except for chips and information technology products."