SEOUL, South Korea's exports fell 1 percent on-year in the first 20 days of January due to a smaller number of working days, data showed Monday. Outbound shipments reached US$33.3 billion in the Jan. 1-20 period, compared with $33.6 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports fell 18.2 percent on-year to $35.9 billion during the period, resulting in a trade deficit of $2.6 billion. The number of working days came to 15.5 over the period, compared with 16 tallied a year earlier. The customs agency noted that considering the daily average volume, exports moved up 2.2 percent on-year during the period. By sector, exports of chips moved up 19.7 percent to reach $5.29 billion, with those of automobiles rising 2.6 percent to $3.47 billion. Those of petroleum products, on the other hand, shed 0.9 percent to $2.85 billion. Outbound shipments of steel products also moved down 7.4 percent to $2.46 billion. Exports of ships, meanwhile, shot up 89.8 percent to hit $1.92 billion, the data also showed. By destination, exports to China, the top trading partner of South Korea, edged up 0.1 percent over the period to $6.8 billion. Those to the United States advanced 3.6 percent to reach $6.18 billion. Exports to the European Union, on the other hand, fell 9.4 percent to $3.53 billion. In December, monthly exports advanced 5.1 percent on-year to $57.6 billion, rising for the third consecutive month. Source: Yonhap News Agency