South Korea is Western Australia’s fourth largest merchandise export market. Western Australia exported A$10.3 billion of goods to South Korea in 2019, with the top exports being iron ore, petroleum and precious metal ore (excluding gold and silver). South Korea is Western Australia’s largest export market for precious metal ore and third largest export market for iron ore.
South Korea is Western Australia’s thirteenth largest source of merchandise imports. Western Australia imported A$612 million of goods from South Korea in 2019, with the top imports being motor vehicles, electrical machinery and fertilisers.
South Korea is Australia’s sixteenth largest source of foreign direct investment (A$7.5 billion in 2019) and is the twentieth largest destination for Australia’s direct investment abroad (A$1.2 billion in 2019).
In 2019, Western Australia had 13,000 visitors and 1,149 students from South Korea. For Western Australian tourists, South Korea is the twenty-sixth most popular overseas destination, with 6,000 Western Australians visiting South Korea in 2018.
Western Australia has a growing Korean community. In 2016, 8,000 Western Australian residents had Korean ancestry and 7,000 were born in South Korea.
The Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation supports Western Australia’s investment and trade with South Korea through its Seoul Office, which was established in 2004.