Semiconductor exports hit $44.8 billion, accounting for 44% of total

Trade surplus also exceeds $30 billion for first time

Full-year exports could surpass $1 trillion

Containers are stacked at Sinseondae and Gamman terminals at the Port of Busan. [Yonhap]
Containers are stacked at Sinseondae and Gamman terminals at the Port of Busan. [Yonhap]

South Korea's exports surpassed $100 billion in a single month for the first time in June, driven by a surge in semiconductor shipments that crossed the $40 billion mark for the first time amid booming global AI investment. The milestone makes South Korea only the fourth country — after Germany, China and the United States — to achieve monthly exports of $100 billion, raising expectations that the country could hit $1 trillion in annual exports this year.

June exports reached $102.24 billion on a customs-clearance basis, up 70.9 percent from the same month last year, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Tuesday. It was the first time in South Korea's trade history that monthly exports had exceeded $100 billion.

The previous monthly record was $87.75 billion, set in May. Monthly exports have now posted consecutive all-time highs for 13 straight months since turning positive year-on-year in June last year. South Korea had never recorded monthly exports of $70 billion before this year. It broke the $80 billion barrier for the first time in March, stayed above that level for three consecutive months through May, then smashed through $100 billion last month.

Average daily exports, adjusted for working days, rose 59.5 percent to $4.54 billion, surpassing $4 billion for the second straight month after $4.28 billion in May and setting a new all-time daily record.

Semiconductors were the driving force. Semiconductor exports surged 199.5 percent to $44.8 billion in June, topping $40 billion for the first time. Soaring demand for memory chips — including HBM — fueled by expanding global AI infrastructure investment, along with rising prices, powered the gain. Semiconductors accounted for 43.8 percent of total exports.

The spread of AI investment lifted other information technology categories as well. Computer exports jumped 308.8 percent to $5.41 billion, driven by strong demand from big tech companies for solid-state drives. Wireless communications device exports, led by finished mobile handsets, climbed 51.9 percent to $1.55 billion.

Eighteen of South Korea's top 20 export items posted gains. Petroleum product exports rose 49.8 percent, boosted by higher unit prices compared with a year earlier. Steel exports grew 9.6 percent, extending a winning streak to 14 consecutive months of year-on-year growth since April last year, as demand for construction materials such as rebar surged alongside the expansion of data center construction.

Seven of nine major export destinations recorded increases. Notably, exports to China — South Korea's largest trading partner — and the United States each exceeded $20 billion simultaneously, reaching $20.03 billion and $20.02 billion respectively.

The June trade surplus came in at $36.15 billion, topping $30 billion for the first time on record. The cumulative surplus for the first half of the year reached $138.3 billion, up $110.9 billion from the same period last year.

First-half exports totaled $496.7 billion, a new all-time high for any six-month period. If the momentum holds in the second half, full-year exports are expected to break the $1 trillion threshold.

"Our exports set a first-half record thanks to strong semiconductor performance driven by expanded investment in AI server infrastructure, along with solid results across established export pillars such as ships, petroleum products and wireless communications devices, as well as promising consumer goods," Kim Jung-kwan, minister of trade, industry and energy, said.

Kim added that uncertainty would persist in the second half — including US tariff measures, oil price volatility and the risk of a global economic slowdown — and pledged that the government would work closely with key trading partners to minimize the uncertainty facing Korean companies and create a favorable export environment.


oskymoon@heraldcorp.com