Some 2.23 million people went abroad in October, up a sharp 19.6 percent from a year ago, while the number of foreign visitors slumped 26.6 percent on-year to 1.17 million. In particular, some 345,000 Chinese travelers came to Korea over the one-month period, a 49.3 percent drop from a year earlier

"During the long holiday period, outbound tourists increased, but foreigners, especially Chinese visitors, backtracked sharply due to the Beijing government's travel ban," a BOK official said.

China -- South Korea's largest trading partner -- has imposed restrictions on South Korean imports and banned the sale of group tour packages in retaliation for Seoul's decision to deploy an advanced U.S. missile defense system on its soil.

South Korea and China agreed in late October to put their bilateral relations back on the right track, a move that could increase the number of Chinese tourists to South Korea moving forward.

The primary income account surplus increased to $1.17 billion in October from a surplus of $710 million a year earlier.

Exports rose 7.1 percent on-year to $44.96 billion in October, with imports advancing 7.9 percent to $37.82 billion. (Yonhap)