SEOUL: December rose 21.1 percent from a year earlier to 97.9 million barrels, preliminary data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy showed.
The final data will be released later in the month by state-run Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC).
The ministry did not break down imports by country of origin. South Korea’s total crude imports in November fell 1.5 percent year-on-year, according to KNOC data last month.