SEOUL, Jan 2 (Reuters) - South Korean exports in December fell 17.4 percent from a year earlier, the government said on Friday, more than expected and dropping for the second straight month as demand wilts in the face of the global downturn.
The fall in December's exports compared with expectations in a Reuters poll for a fall of 16.4 percent.
It was the first time exports have fallen for two consecutive months since March 2002.
The Ministry of Knowledge Economy also said imports in December slid 21.5 percent over a year earlier, missing a 19.1 percent fall forecast in the Reuters poll.
The figures matched data that appeared on the customs office's website (http://www.customs.go.kr) early in the day. [ID:nL179089]
South Korea's exports in all of 2008 rose 13.7 percent from the previous year and imports grew 21.5 percent, producing a trade deficit of $13.0 billion, the biggest shortfall since 1996.
South Korea's monthly exports and imports (value in billion dollars, percentage change over a year earlier):
Dec *Nov Exports value 27.29 29.02 Exports growth -17.4 -19.0 Imports value 26.62 28.88 Imports growth -21.5 -14.9 Trade balance value +0.67 +0.14 * revised NOTE: China and the United States combined take around one-third of South Korea's exports. Electronics and cars made up about 40 percent of all exports during the first eleven months of the year. (Reporting by Cheon Jong-woo and Yoo Choonsik; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner and Ken Wills)