Korea Continues in Exports

Korea Continues Driving Remarkable Growth in Exports

South Korea’s exports in July totaled $98.89 billion, which is a significant 62.8% increase compared to the same period last year.
This marks the second-highest monthly figure on record for Korea, following the $102.25 billion recorded in June. The trade balance, calculated by subtracting imports from exports, recorded a surplus of $30.32 billion, marking an increase of $23.81 billion year-on-year. This shows a streak of surpluses exceeding $30 billion for two consecutive months.
As in July, semiconductors were the driving force behind this amazing export performance. Semiconductor exports surged by 178.8% year-on-year to $41.01 billion. This is the second-highest-ever on record, following June ($44.8 billion). This is attributed to the continued rise in memory semiconductor prices, driven by the sustained expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure investment by global big-tech companies. The fixed price of 16GB DRAM semiconductors climbed from $31.00 in March of this year to $45.00 in July.

The effects of the semiconductor boom have spread across the entire information technology (IT) industry. Driven by surging demand for SSDs for AI servers, computer exports skyrocketed by 404% to $4.79 billion. Wireless communication devices recorded $1.81 billion in exports, an increase of 51%. Although rising semiconductor prices increased the cost burden on entry-level products, this was offset by strong sales of premium products such as the Galaxy S26.
Among the top-20 major export items, 19 categories ‒ excluding home appliances ‒ showed positive growth. Automobile exports recorded $6.24 billion, a 7.0% increase, driven by strong sales of eco-friendly vehicles such as hybrids and a base effect resulting from the automotive industry’s summer vacation schedule shifting from late July to early August.

Ship exports also rose by 46.9% to $3.29 billion, boosted by expanded shipments of high-value-added vessels, such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers. This marks the sixth consecutive month of growth.
The materials and machinery sectors also showed a steady increase. Steel exports ($2.36 billion) rose by 4.4%, driven by demand for the construction of AI data centers and oil pipeline replacements in the United States. Exports of general machinery ($4.53 billion) also increased by 5.9% due to expanded investment in high-tech manufacturing.

 
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