jasdooit

With the rising popularity of K-beauty, South Korea’s domestic cosmetic exports last year exceeded those of the United States, placing it second worldwide.

As reported by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on the 22nd, the country’s cosmetic exports last year achieved a new record of $11.4 billion (1.7225 trillion South Korean won). This represents an 11.8% rise compared to 2024, when exports surpassed $10 billion at $10.2 billion.

As a result, South Korea’s beauty product exports moved up from third position in 2024 to second globally last year. France took the top spot with $24.3 billion (3.679 trillion Korean won), while the United States came in third with $10.8 billion (1.635 trillion Korean won).

The increase in exports also caused the beauty industry surplus to reach $10.1 billion (1.529 trillion Korean won), surpassing the $10 billion mark. The beauty industry surplus is determined by subtracting the import value from the export value, indicating that exports were $10.1 billion higher than imports.

South Korea’s total trade surplus last year amounted to $78 billion (11.78 trillion Korean won), with the cosmetics sector making up 12.9% of that amount. A representative from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety noted, “The overall trade surplus hit its highest point since 2017, with cosmetics surpassing 10% and emerging as a key surplus industry.”

Basic beauty products drove the increase in exports, representing 74.7% of the overall value of cosmetic exports from the previous year. Color cosmetics constituted 13.2% of the exports.

In terms of country, the United States had the highest export value at $2.2 billion, followed by China ($2 billion) and Japan ($1.1 billion). The number of countries that imported South Korean cosmetics rose to 202 last year, an increase of 30.

Among cosmetic responsible sales companies, LG H&H achieved the highest production value at 3.9185 trillion South Korean won, followed by Amorepacific (3.0256 trillion South Korean won) and Aekyung Industry (296.6 billion South Korean won). In the ODM (Original Design Manufacturer) sector, Cosmax topped with 1.6104 trillion South Korean won, followed by Kolmar Korea (1.3012 trillion South Korean won) and Cosmecca Korea (353.1 billion South Korean won).

• Monday 5900 won membership, 2900 won for newspaper readers, Chosun membership
• 8 titles of newspapers and magazines worth 55,000 won, enjoy unlimited reading – Chosun Membership
• Receive 7000 points to use like cash, shop wisely, Chosun Membership