The number of registered vehicles in South Korea shot up in the first half of the year, helped by an economic recovery and a wider lineup of newly released cars, the government said Friday.
The country's registered cars numbered 17.65 million as of the end of June, up 320,000 vehicles from six month earlier, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said. The figure translates into one vehicle per 2.83 persons.
The number of registered passenger cars stood at 13.34 million units, accounting for 75.6 percent of the total, according to the ministry.
The number of newly registered vehicles rose 10 percent from a year ago to 750,000 units in the January-June period, including a 10 percent increase in imported vehicles.
Imported vehicles registered in the country totaled 468,690 units as of end-June, making up 2.7 percent of the total, the ministry said.