The country’s export and import prices both dropped in May for the first time in five months due to the Korean won’s appreciation against the U.S. dollar and a fall in global oil prices. 

According to data released by the Bank of Korea(BOK) on Friday, the country's export price index marked 131-point-70 last month, down zero-point-six percent from a month earlier.

The BOK said that the fall is attributed to the appreciation of the Korean currency, which in May strengthened zero-point-two percent month-on-month against the dollar. 

The import price index also dropped one-point-four percent from April to stand at 141-point-58 last month.

A drop in global oil prices is attributed to the fall in the index, with the price of Dubai Crude, South Korea's benchmark, slipping five-point-eight percent month-on-month in May.