South Korea May 1-20 exports fall 16.1% on year

The country's trade balance came in at a $4.3 billion deficit for the May 1-20 period, the data showed.

That compares with a 14.2% decline in exports for the whole of April.

South Korea's heavily trade-dependant economy has been hit hard by faltering global demand. Exports have declined in each of the past seven months on an annual basis, their longest losing streak in three years.