[Breaking News] South Korea's Current Account Surplus Surpasses the Combined Total of Germany and Japan

Breaking News: South Korea's current account surplus for the second quarter of 2026 reached $116.63 billion, surpassing the combined surplus of manufacturing powerhouses Germany and Japan for the first time in history.
During the same quarter, Germany recorded a surplus of $52.28 billion and Japan $50.62 billion, totaling only $102.89 billion for the two countries.
South Korea's surplus was $13.74 billion higher than this combined total.
South Korea ranked 2nd among the 36 major countries surveyed by the IMF, following China ($193.72 billion).
The cumulative surplus for the first half of the year also reached $191.01 billion, ranking 2nd after China ($378.03 billion) and ahead of Germany, Japan, Norway, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.
This trend is continuing into the third quarter. For the two-month period of July and August, South Korea's surplus stood at $88.19 billion, exceeding the combined total of Germany and Japan ($80.82 billion) by $7.37 billion.