Korean Exports Already Surpass Last Year’s Record... "Goal Is 1 Trillion Dollars"

Cumulative exports reached 709.4 billion dollars on the 5th,
surpassing last year's total record
By September 10, cumulative exports hit 728.6 billion dollars
271.4 billion dollars left to reach 1 trillion dollar milestone

The upward trend in exports continues, driven by robust semiconductor exports. As of early September, total exports have already surpassed last year's full-year figures. The government is mobilizing all available resources to achieve its export target of 1 trillion dollars this year.

According to the Korea Customs Service on the 13th, the cumulative export value for the year reached 728.561 billion dollars as of the 10th, marking a 54.1% increase compared to the same period last year. During this period, imports rose by only 18.9%, resulting in a trade surplus of 212.99 billion dollars.

The Asia Business Daily Database

Korea’s cumulative exports had already surpassed last year’s annual record by 1:00 AM on the 5th, reaching 709.4 billion dollars—exceeding the annual figure of 709.3 billion dollars for the previous year. This breaks the all-time record 117 days ahead of last year’s pace.

As of the 10th, the cumulative export value stands at 728.6 billion dollars, leaving 271.4 billion dollars more needed to reach the annual export target of 1 trillion dollars. Considering the current pace, it is highly likely that the 1 trillion dollar mark will be achieved this year. In August, exports amounted to 98.25 billion dollars. In June, monthly exports exceeded 100 billion dollars for the first time in history, and July and August recorded 99 billion and 98.3 billion dollars, respectively.

The cumulative export value from January to August this year is 693.4 billion dollars, with a monthly average of about 86.66 billion dollars. If 306.6 billion dollars in exports are achieved between September and December, the total export value will exceed 1 trillion dollars.

This record-breaking export momentum is being led by semiconductors, which are setting new all-time monthly highs. The top month for semiconductor exports was August, with 46.7 billion dollars, followed by June this year (4.8 billion dollars), and July (41 billion dollars). In fact, semiconductor exports in August amounted to 46.65 billion dollars, an increase of 209% year-on-year, while exports of items other than semiconductors grew by 20%. An official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy stated, “With hyper-scalers such as Google and Amazon continuing to expand their infrastructure investments, the demand for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure remains strong, driving historic records. Semiconductor export volumes have maintained strong performance for three consecutive months, each exceeding 40 billion dollars.”

Computer exports (6.24 billion dollars, up 419.5%) also hit an all-time monthly high, due to ongoing increases in NAND prices, which are key components of enterprise solid-state drives (SSD). Exports of wireless communication devices (1.88 billion dollars, up 21.2%) continued their positive streak for 10 months in a row, as sales of new products such as the Galaxy S26, Z Fold, and Flip 8 increased.

This trend has continued in September as well. Between the 1st and 10th of this month, semiconductor exports reached 16.5 billion dollars, a 270.1% jump year-on-year. Semiconductors’ share in total exports also increased by 23.9 percentage points to 47.1%.

In addition, exports of petroleum products (up 57.0%), passenger cars (up 10.0%), ships (up 66.8%), and steel products (up 10.3%) all increased. Among the top ten major export items, precision instruments was the only category to see a decline (down 4.8%). By country, exports increased to all ten major destinations, including China (up 103.0%), the United States (up 137.5%), Taiwan (up 176.0%), Vietnam (up 42.2%), and the European Union (EU, up 38.9%).

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