Asia’s Export Sprint Throttles Back to a Marathon Pace

Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg

The last time South Korean exports were this strong was when Canada’s Ben Johnson set a new world record as he won gold at the Seoul Olympics, only to be later disqualified.

That’s the historical context for new figures showing South Korea’s exports surged the most since 1988 in May as overseas shipments increased 45.6% from 12 months earlier.