SEOUL: South Korea’s exports surpassed US$100bil for the first time for the month of June, making it only the fourth country in the world to reach the milestone, after Germany, China and the United States.
South Korea’s exports marked US$102.25bil in June, up 70.9% from a year earlier, according to preliminary data released by the Trade, Industry and Energy Ministry.
Fuelling June’s performance were semiconductors, which surged 199.5% to US$44.8bil, accounting for 43.8% of the value of total exports.
Out of the country’s 20 major export items, 18 recorded growth in June, including automobiles and ships.
Beyond joining the US$100bil monthly export club, June’s data included a series of notable milestones.
Semiconductors surpassed US$40bil in monthly exports for the first time, while the trade surplus topped US$30bil, another historic high.
The country’s trade balance remained in the black for a 17th consecutive month.
Looking at the broader six month period, first half exports reached a record US$496.7bil, up 48.4% from a year earlier.
Semiconductor exports jumped 163% over the same period.
“South Korea was able to post a record export performance in the first half on the back of robust semiconductor exports driven by demand for AI servers,” Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said in a statement.
Ministry officials said the country could be on track to surpass US$1 trillion in annual exports for the first time if current momentum continues, though they cautioned that conditions in the second half remain uncertain.
Using monthly merchandise export data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Germany first crossed the US$100bil monthly export threshold in October 2006, followed by China in June 2007 and the United States in October 2007.
South Korea’s entry into the group comes amid a very different export structure.
While Germany’s manufacturing base is highly diversified, China’s growth reflects its scale-driven industrial platform and the United States maintains a broad mix of goods and services.
On the contrary, South Korea’s milestone is heavily concentrated in artificial intelligence (AI)-linked semiconductors.
Global demand for AI is booming, driving strong demand for memory chips, particularly high-bandwidth memory used in AI infrastructure, an area dominated by South Korean chipmakers SK hynix and Samsung Electronics.
Germany’s milestone was built on a broad high-end manufacturing base rather than a single sector, anchored in motor vehicles and parts, machinery, electronic and optical products, as well as chemicals. — The Korea Herald/ANN
