SEOUL, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's export topped 600 billion U.S. dollars last year for the first time in the country's history, a government report showed Tuesday.

Export, which accounts for about half of the export-driven economy, reached a record high of 605.5 billion dollars in 2018, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

It was up 5.5 percent from the previous year, marking the biggest since the country began the outbound shipment in 1948.

The country's export surpassed 500 billion dollars for the first time in 2011.

Import advanced 11.8 percent over the year to 535 billion dollars last year, the largest ever recorded by the economy.

Trade surplus amounted to 70.5 billion dollars, staying in the black for 10 straight years.