Large-Company Exports More Than Double on Semiconductor Tailwinds; Top 10 Firms' Share Tops 60% for First Time

Fueled by strong semiconductor exports, export value among large corporations more than doubled in the third quarter of this year compared with a year earlier. By contrast, export growth at mid-sized and small and medium-sized enterprises remained in the 10% range, further deepening the concentration of exports among the top 10 large corporations, which accounted for more than 60% of total exports.

According to the “Trade Statistics by Corporate Characteristics for the Third Quarter of 2026 (Preliminary)” released on November 10 by the Ministry of Data and Statistics and the Korea Customs Service, total exports in the third quarter of this year rose 72.3% year over year to $318.6 billion.

Yonhap News Agency

By company size, exports by large corporations surged 103.5%, driving overall performance. Improvements in the results of major semiconductor manufacturers, including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, are believed to have had a decisive impact. Export growth at large corporations climbed steeply from 10.4% in the fourth quarter of last year to 53.9% in the first quarter of this year and 81.7% in the second quarter, before soaring into triple digits in the third quarter.

By contrast, export growth at mid-sized and small and medium-sized enterprises was limited to 12.8% and 10.7%, respectively. Mid-sized enterprises saw a slight improvement from 10.8% in the previous quarter, while growth at small and medium-sized enterprises slowed from 12.7%. Exports by large corporations increased mainly in IT components, including semiconductors, and minerals, while small and medium-sized enterprises posted moderate growth, led by machinery and chemical products.

The export structure centered on large corporations was also clearly reflected in the statistics. The top 10 companies accounted for 60.9% of exports, up 20.3 percentage points from the same period a year earlier. After exceeding 50% for the first time in the first quarter of this year, the share surpassed the 60% mark just two quarters later. Expanding the scope to the top 100 companies, their share of exports reached 79.4%, up 11.5 percentage points year over year.

The polarization by workforce size was also pronounced. Exports by companies with 250 or more employees surged 86.8%, while those with 10 to 249 employees saw a 16.2% increase. However, exports by microbusinesses with 1 to 9 employees fell 1.7%.

Meanwhile, imports in the third quarter rose 25.0% year over year to $203.1 billion. By company size, imports by large corporations increased 29.5% and those by mid-sized enterprises rose 29.2%, while import growth at small and medium-sized enterprises remained at 12.5%.

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