On October 21, South Korea reported a significant surge in exports during the first half of October, largely driven by sustained global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, with semiconductor shipments emerging as the key growth engine. According to data released by the Korea Customs Service on Wednesday, after adjusting for differences in working days, exports in the first 20 days of October rose by 65.9% year-on-year. This growth rate, while robust, marked a slowdown compared to the 89.8% increase recorded during the same period in September. However, when examining unadjusted figures, South Korea’s exports soared by an impressive 105.4% year-on-year, while imports climbed by 42.8%, resulting in a trade surplus of $14.5 billion. In the first 20 days of October this year, South Korea’s total exports reached $61.6 billion, maintaining strong momentum, albeit slightly lower than the $71.4 billion in exports recorded during the same period in September.