South Korea's imports via e-commerce reached a new all-time high in 2021 as more people purchased foreign goods online, government data showed Thursday.

The country's e-commerce imports stood at $4.15 billion in the first 11 months of this year, up 25.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.

The amount for the 11-month period surpasses the full-year figure for 2020.

The number of e-commerce transactions came to 79 million during the period, up 40.6 percent from the previous year.

According to the data, 47.3 percent of South Koreans in their 20s-50s conducted direct overseas purchases this year, with those in their 40s taking up the largest portion of total direct purchasers.

Health products topped the list of their purchases with 19.4 percent, followed by clothing with 17.7 percent, electronics goods and computers with 10.4 percent and footwear with 7.3 percent.

Foodstuffs recorded the biggest on-year growth rate of 44.2 percent, trailed by books with 40.5 percent and shoes with 28.9 percent.

Major import sources of food were the United States, China and Japan, the data showed.

In November, e-commerce imports reached $450 million, the highest monthly tally this year, with imports likely to remain brisk in December, the service said. (Yonhap)