SEOUL, Sept 5 (Reuters) – South Korea’s exports have reached $709.4 billion so far this year, surpassing last year’s annual record, the customs office said on Saturday, as the economy rides high on booming global demand for AI chips.
The country’s exports hit $709.3 billion last year, a second consecutive annual record.
Asia’s fourth-largest economy is on track to reach $1 trillion in annual exports by early December, becoming the fourth country to hit the milestone after the United States, China and Germany, according to the Korea Customs Service.
“Our exports continue to show remarkable growth momentum, even amid an uncertain trade environment due to strengthened protectionism, global supply chain restructuring and the Middle East situation,” the customs office said.
CHIPS ACCOUNT FOR 41% OF EXPORTS
From January to August this year, semiconductor exports increased by 169.6% to $281 billion compared to the same period last year, representing 41% of total exports.
South Korea is home to leading global memory chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which are benefiting from surging prices as the AI investment boom exacerbates a chip shortage.
Passenger cars, South Korea’s No.2 export item, saw overseas shipments fall 4% during January to August from a year earlier.
Korea’s exports to China, its top export destination, jumped 76% during the period and shipments to the Untied States increased 57%, the data showed.
(Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Jihoon Lee; Editing by Tom Hogue)
