South Korea’s exports saw a significant increase of 60.4% in the initial 20 days of June compared to the same period last year. Data from the Korea Customs Service revealed that outbound shipments reached $62 billion during this timeframe, marking a new high for this period. The surge was primarily driven by robust exports of semiconductors.
Imports also rose by 23.2% year-on-year to $44.5 billion in the mentioned period, resulting in a trade surplus of $17 billion. Notably, exports of chips nearly tripled to $25.5 billion due to the high global demand for memory, particularly from the artificial intelligence (AI) sector. Semiconductors accounted for 41.2% of the total exports, showing a significant increase from the previous year.
By destination, exports to China spiked by 86.9% to $13 billion, while those to the United States surged by 53.9% to $11.4 billion. Shipments to Vietnam and the European Union also saw notable increases of 75.5% and 13.6%, respectively. South Korea’s total exports for the year so far have reached $456.4 billion, reflecting a substantial 45.6% rise from the same period last year.
South Korean stocks traded higher on Monday morning, with the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gaining 93.37 points, or 1.03%, reaching 9,145.79 by 11:20 a.m. The market initially opened lower due to concerns over U.S.-Iran negotiations but rebounded later, supported by strong performances in semiconductor-related shares.
