KEPCO, South Korea's state-run utility, said in a statement that it had suggested an advance payment scheme to major power users including Samsung and SK Hynix. ^[1] South Korea's current account surplus reached $42.08 billion in July, marking the second-largest monthly surplus on record and the largest ever for the month of July. ^[2] South Korea recorded a trade surplus of $42 billion in July, ranking as the second-largest in the country's history. ^[3] KEPCO said that participation, interest rates, payment amounts and payment periods for the advance payment scheme had not been finalised. ^[4] On August 27, the Bank of Korea sharply raised its forecast for this year's annual current account surplus to $450 billion from $250 billion. ^[5] Samsung Electronics, a major producer of memory and system semiconductors, is a key beneficiary of the current export environment. ^[6] SK Hynix reported that its July exports increased by 65.3% compared to the same month last year. ^[7] The surge in the trade surplus was primarily driven by the booming semiconductor sector. ^[8] The headline of the article reports that a newspaper has said Samsung might pay $15 billion in advance for power, but KEPCO's statement does not confirm this amount. ^[9]