First-time exporters near 20,000 firms — each shipping 1.4 product types to 1.6 countries on average
The number of first-time exporters in 2025 — companies with no export activity in the preceding three years — rose 3.7 percent from the previous year to 19,746 firms, the Korea Customs Service said Monday.
Their combined export value climbed 13.2 percent year-on-year to $6.9 billion, the highest since 2019, when the figure stood at $7.2 billion. The total accounted for 89.7 percent of the annual export value recorded by newly entering firms — those with no import or export activity the prior year but with activity in the current year — and represented 1.0 percent of overall corporate export value.
The Korea Customs Service released the figures as part of its 2025 Corporate Trade Activity Statistics report, noting that the number of first-time exporters was the largest in five years and their export value the highest in six, signaling fresh momentum in the country's export market.
The top export categories were machinery and computers, followed by electrical products, cosmetics, plastics and automobiles. Each company exported an average of 1.4 product types.
In terms of scale, the average export value per company was $350,000. Companies exporting less than $100,000 accounted for 80 percent of the total, meaning small-scale firms with growth potential made up the vast majority.
First-time exporters shipped goods to 173 countries in total. China was the top destination, followed by the United States, Japan, Vietnam and the EU. Each company exported to an average of 1.6 countries.
By region within Korea, the Greater Seoul area — Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province — led all regions, followed by the southeastern cluster of Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province, then the Daegu-North Gyeongsang Province area, and the central region comprising Sejong, Daejeon, South Chungcheong Province and North Chungcheong Province.
kwonhl@heraldcorp.com
