South Korea's exports of industrial parts and materials slipped last year from a year earlier due to weak global demand, with its trade surplus in the sector also edging down, the trade ministry said Monday.

Outbound shipments of industrial parts and materials fell 4.1 percent on-year to $264.7 billion, accounting for 50.2 percent of the country's overall exports last year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Exports of industrial parts dropped 0.2 percent on-year to $187.5 billion, with shipments of industrial materials falling 12.3 percent to $77.2 billion.

The country's trade surplus in the sector also contracted to $105.1 billion, down 2.5 percent from the previous year's $107.8 billion, while its imports dipped 5.1 percent on-year to $159.7 billion.

It marked the second consecutive year that the country's trade surplus in the sector surpassed the $100 billion mark.   

"The sector's trade surplus has topped the $100 billion line for two straight years," the ministry said in a release. "It propped up the South Korean economy in the face of falling oil prices, a weaker Japanese currency and a slowdown in emerging countries."

Shipments to most regions declined on sluggish global demand.

Exports to Europe sank 11.2 percent on-year to $29 billion and shipments to Japan plunged 13.2 percent to $12.2 billion, while exports to the United States inched down 0.5 percent to $27 billion over the cited period.

Shipments to China decreased 1.9 percent to $93.5 billion, taking up 35.3 percent of the sector's total exports last year, up from 34.5 percent tallied in the previous year.

The ministry added the portion of Japanese industrial parts and materials in the country's overall imports fell to a fresh record low of 16.5 percent, compared with 18.1 percent in 2014. (Yonhap)