2012-2016, Indonesian-South Korean Trade Showed a Downward Trend

South Korean President Moon Jae-in is scheduled to visit Indonesia from November 8-10, 2017. On Thursday, November 9th, he will meet with President Joko Widodo at the Bogor Palace. South Korea is a strategic partner for Indonesia. This country consistently ranks among the top 10 countries with the largest investments in Indonesia. This 12th visit by a South Korean president is expected to be an opportunity to boost investment and trade cooperation with Indonesia, which has declined in recent years.

Trade between Indonesia and South Korea showed a downward trend from 2012-2016. Data from the Ministry of Trade recorded that total Indonesia-South Korea trade in 2016 fell by 49.36 percent to US$13.68 billion, compared to 2012 when it reached US$27.02 billion. Indonesia's exports to South Korea decreased by 53.43 percent to US$7.08 billion, and Indonesia's imports from South Korea also shrank by 44.24 percent to US$11.97 billion. However, during the January-August 2017 period, the value of Indonesia-South Korea trade increased by 19.96 percent to US$10.85 billion compared to the same period the previous year.

Similarly, foreign investment from South Korea into Indonesia from 2013-2016 also showed a decline. After reaching its peak in 2013 at US$2.2 billion, South Korean investment in Indonesia decreased by 51 percent to US$1.07 billion in 2016. However, in 2017, South Korean foreign investment during the January-June period recorded a 91 percent growth to US$901.3 million compared to the same period the previous year.