Semiconductor Exports Drive Record $28.6 Billion in June

South Korea's exports have surged more than 80% compared to last year, reaching a record high of $28.6 billion in the first ten days of June, driven by a significant increase in semiconductor exports. The Korea Customs Service reported on June 11 that the preliminary export figure for June 1-10 was $28.635 billion, marking an 85.9% increase from the same period last year. This figure surpasses the previous record of $25.2 billion set in April.
The average daily export amount during this period was $4.09 billion, a 46.1% increase, with the number of working days rising by 1.5 days to seven compared to last year.
Semiconductors were the primary driver of this growth, with exports reaching $11.068 billion, a staggering 205.8% increase. This is the highest figure recorded for the June 1-10 period. Analysts attribute the surge to a rebound in memory prices and increased demand for AI semiconductors, particularly high-bandwidth memory (HBM). Semiconductors accounted for 38.7% of total exports, up 15.1 percentage points from a year ago.
In addition to semiconductors, exports of petroleum products rose by 68.7%, ships by 52.0%, steel products by 39.1%, and passenger cars by 25.4%, all contributing to the record export figures. Exports of computer peripherals also soared by 259.4%, driven by increased demand and rising prices for solid-state drives (SSDs) used in AI servers.
Exports to major markets saw significant increases, with China up 101.4%, the United States up 54.4%, Vietnam up 102.9%, Taiwan up 134.0%, and the European Union up 46.0%. The top three countries—China, the United States, and Vietnam—accounted for 47.3% of total exports.
During the same period, imports rose by 35.6% to $23.352 billion. Notable increases were seen in imports of semiconductors (71.3%), semiconductor manufacturing equipment (52.2%), and machinery (21.2%).
Energy imports, including crude oil, gas, and coal, surged by 39.9% compared to last year. Crude oil imports alone increased by 42.9% to $3.032 billion, influenced by rising international oil prices amid instability in the Middle East and a strong won-dollar exchange rate.
Imports from China (57.4%), the United States (34.6%), the European Union (20.9%), Japan (31.3%), and Taiwan (43.6%) all saw increases.
With exports exceeding imports, the trade balance recorded a surplus of $5.282 billion.