South Korea's current account surplus soared to a record high in June as an increased surplus in the goods balance helped offset a widening service account deficit, data showed Monday. 
The current account surplus reached US$12.17 billion in June, compared with an $11.87 billion surplus from a year earlier, according to the provisional data released by the Bank of Korea. The current account is the biggest measure of cross-border trade. 
The June figure is the highest since 1980, when the central bank began to collect data, according to South Korea's News Agency (Yonhap). 
In June, the surplus in the products account came to $12.82 billion, up from a $10.74 billion surplus in the previous month, the BOK said. 
Exports slipped 7.4% on-year, while imports plunged 10.1%. 
Meanwhile, the service sector narrowed its deficit to $1.38 billion from $2.2 billion during the same period. 
In the primary income account, the country posted a surplus of $1.26 billion in June, up from $910 million in May, thanks to an increase in income on equity.