Europe's exports to Korea rose last year while imports from Korea fell. According to figures released by Eurostat on Sunday, EU shipments to Korea totaled 32.5 billion euros in 2011, up 16 percent from the previous year, while the 27-nation bloc imported 8 percent less from Korea.

Korea was the only country out of the EU's top 10 trade partners that exported less there than the year before. The bloc's trade deficit with Korea fell to around US$4.8 billion last year, only one-third of the figure recorded in 2010.

Despite the ongoing eurozone debt crisis, the EU's total trade volume expanded in 2011, exports and imports both recording a jump of over 10 percent to around $2 trillion each.