Soaring Oil Prices Absorbed... Samsung and SK hynix Drive K-Exports to Record Highs [Weekend Money]

Maintaining the $80 Billion Mark for Three Consecutive Months
Exports to China Surpass Those to the U.S.
AI Revolution Drives the Supercycle

The domestic export economy continues to break all-time records, driven by a semiconductor super-boom and a surge in exports to China. Analysts say that if the war risk in Iran is resolved, Korea’s export economy could gain even more momentum.

According to iM Investment & Securities on June 6, Korea’s export volume this month has far exceeded market expectations, once again setting a new record for monthly exports. Since surpassing 80 billion dollars for the first time ever in March, exports have remained above the 80 billion dollar mark for three consecutive months.

The main driving force behind this boom is undoubtedly semiconductors. Last month, semiconductors accounted for 42.3% of total exports, the highest proportion ever recorded. This directly reflects the growing dominance of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix in the stock market as their market capitalization shares expand—a clear sign of the so-called “semiconductor concentration phenomenon.”

In particular, the trade surplus has increased sharply. Last month’s trade surplus reached 26.95 billion dollars, with a cumulative surplus of 101.9 billion dollars from January to May. This surpasses the previous record of 95.2 billion dollars set in 2017. Although high oil prices have led to a larger deficit in crude oil imports, the semiconductor export surplus has more than offset this, fully absorbing the external shock.

In terms of market diversification, the recovery of exports to China was decisive. Last month, exports to China surged by 80.9% year-on-year to 18.9 billion dollars, far surpassing exports to the United States (15.97 billion dollars). The boom was mainly led by a sharp increase in semiconductor exports related to artificial intelligence (AI) to China and Hong Kong. In addition, exports excluding semiconductors are also showing signs of a gradual recovery.

Park Sanghyun, a researcher at iM Investment & Securities, stated, “Persistently high oil prices due to ongoing risk in Iran remain the biggest obstacle to export growth in the second half of the year.” He added, “If this risk is resolved, a fall in oil prices could further expand the trade surplus.” He also projected, “The strong performance in semiconductor exports is expected to continue, as both U.S. hyperscalers (large-scale data center operators) are ramping up investment and China’s AI revolution is clearly accelerating its own investment.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.