South Korea posted a trade surplus for the 41st month in a row in June as imports dropped at a much faster pace than exports, customs data showed Wednesday.

According to the data by the Korea Customs Service, the country's trade surplus reached US$9.97 billion last month, up significantly from $6.26 billion in May and higher than $5.35 billion a year earlier.

Exports contracted 2.4 percent on-year to $46.67 billion in June, while imports nosedived 13.6 percent to $36.69 billion. In June 2014, exports hit $47.82 billion, with imports standing at $42.47 billion.

The KCS, however, said both exports and imports increased from the month before. Exports jumped 10.3 percent on-month, with imports gaining 1.8 percent.

South Korea's trade account has been in the black since February 2012.

Last month, semiconductor exports rose 3 percent on-year, with shipments of cars and automobile parts rising 5.7 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively. Deliveries of wireless communication products increased 6 percent from the year before.

On the downside, ship exports dropped 19.2 percent, with shipments of refined petroleum products and liquid crystal displays falling 14.4 percent and 11.7 percent, respectively.

Outbound shipments of consumer electronics plunged 25.3 percent last month from the year before.

By region, exports to China, South Korea's largest trading partner, moved up 0.8 percent, with figures for the United States and Australia rising 6.9 percent and 16.8 percent, respectively.

Shipments to the European Union, Japan, Latin America and the Middle East all declined compared with the year before.

KCS data showed imports of computer chips rose 0.4 percent on-year in June, with machinery imports increasing 4.7 percent.

Inbound shipments of crude oil were down 36.4 percent, with numbers for information technology equipment and minerals falling 10.3 percent and 12.4 percent, respectively.

Imports from the EU, the U.S. and Latin America rose, while shipments from China, the Middle East, Japan and Australia fell.

In the first half of 2015, the country's cumulative exports reached $268.7 billion, down 5.1 percent from a year earlier, while imports came to $222.4 billion, representing a 15.6 percent drop.

In the January-June period, the country's trade surplus stood at $46.3 billion, much larger than the $19.9 billion in the black posted for the same period in 2014, according to the KCS data. For the whole of last year, South Korea's trade surplus stood at $47.2 billion. (Yonhap)