The number of trading firms in South Korea touched a fresh all-time high in 2021 on brisk exports and imports, government data showed Wednesday.

Asia's fourth-largest economy had 253,058 trading companies last year, up 4.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.

The value of their trade also spiked 28.1 percent on-year to a new record of $1.23 trillion.

The number of exporting companies shrank 2.5 percent on-year to 95,640, but the value of their exports surged 25.8 percent to $643.1 billion.

Importing firms numbered 212,302 in 2021, up 5.3 percent from the previous year, with their imports shooting up 30.8 percent on-year to $583.7 billion.

The tally of trading firms excludes companies engaging in both exports and imports.

The number of new entrants to the trade market rose 4.4 percent on-year to 67,236, with 57,206 companies exiting, down 1.8 percent from the previous year, according to the data. (Yonhap)