Korea’s Exports

Korea’s Exports Surpass US$100 Billion
in June

South Korea has set a new milestone by surpassing US$100 billion in exports for the first time in its history during June 2026.
Semiconductors — a key sector — are driving overall exports with June’s performance exceeding $40 billion. Moreover, the nation’s trade surplus also surpassed $30 billion for the first time, achieving remarkable results in terms of both quantity and quality.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) recently announced that June’s exports recorded $102.25 billion, a 70.9% surge compared to the same month of last year.

This marks the first time in history that Korea’s monthly exports have exceeded $100 billion. It far surpassed the previous all-time record of $87.8 billion set in May, by passing the $90 billion mark and directly entering the $100 billion era.
With this achievement, South Korea has become the fourth country in the world to reach $100 billion in monthly exports, following Germany, China, and the United States.
The nation’s monthly exports continued their streak of setting all-time monthly records for 13 consecutive months, following a turnaround to year-on-year growth in June of last year.
Average daily exports, based on the number of actual working days, climbed by 59.5% to $4.54 billion, marking a new all-time high for the second consecutive month following May ($4.28 billion).

The main driver of growth was semiconductors. Powered by the exponential demand for memory fueled by the global boom in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure investment, fixed prices surged, resulting in semiconductor exports in June recording $44.82 billion, a 199.5% increase year-on-year.
The price of DDR5 16Gb RAM continued its upward trend, rising from $31.0 in March to $35.3 in April, $37.5 in May, and $40.0 in June, boosting Korea’s export figures.
This marks the first time that the nation’s monthly semiconductor exports have surpassed $40 billion. Semiconductors have also recorded their highest-ever monthly figures for 15 consecutive months.
Computer exports, driven by high demand for solid-state drives (SSDs) from big-tech companies, recorded $5.41 billion, representing a 308.8% increase. Wireless communication devices ($1.55 billion, up 51.9%) also showed an upward trend, centered on finished mobile phones.
Balanced growth was achieved as exports of 18 out of the top-20 major product categories increased. The export growth rate for non-semiconductor items reached 28%.

By region, seven out of the nine major export destinations saw significant gains. Notably, exports to China and the United States, Korea’s largest trading partners, both surpassed $20 billion. This was thanks to a substantial increase in semiconductor exports driven by expanded investment in AI servers in both countries.
Exports for the first half of this year (January to June) reached $496.7 billion, a 48.4% increase compared to the same period last year, setting a new all-time record.
If this momentum continues into the second half, this year’s exports are expected to reach the dream target of $1 trillion.

 
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