SEOUL - South Korea's transportation industry witnessed a significant 20 percent increase in sales in 2022, fueled by a surge in travel demand following the stabilization of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the total sales for the sector reached 232.5 trillion won (approximately US$177.66 billion) last year, marking a 19.8 percent rise from the previous year. This growth was primarily driven by a 57.9 percent increase in the air transport sector, which recorded sales of 23.4 trillion won as travel resumed post-pandemic. The water transport segment also showed robust growth with a 36.2 percent increase, reaching 63.4 trillion won, while land transport sector sales rose by 7.5 percent to 81.9 trillion won. Additionally, the storage and delivery service sector experienced a 13 percent jump in sales in 2022. By the end of 2022, South Korea had 598,000 transportation companies, a 4.1 percent increase from the previous year, employing a workforce of 1.34 million, up 1.6 percent year-on-year.