In May, South Korea's exports continued to demonstrate remarkable resilience, further bolstering the hawkish policy stance adopted by the Bank of Korea. Amidst geopolitical uncertainties and inflationary pressures, the sustained demand for semiconductors has emerged as a pivotal driver of the nation's economic expansion. After accounting for variations in working days, South Korea's export volume experienced a significant year-on-year increase of 60.7% in May. Concurrently, import volume rose by 20.8%, culminating in a trade surplus of $26.9 billion. The raw data, which does not adjust for working day differences, revealed an even more impressive 53.2% surge in exports—marking the highest growth rate since January 1984. This stands in contrast to the revised 48% growth observed in April. The robust investment appetite within the global artificial intelligence and data center sectors has, once again, propelled semiconductor products to the forefront, spearheading the nation's export growth.