On August 1, Yonhap News Agency reported that buoyed by a surge in demand for memory chips, South Korea’s export volume in July skyrocketed by nearly 63% year-on-year, reaching US$98.99 billion. This figure marked the second-highest monthly export volume on record, trailing only behind June’s US$102.2 billion. During the same period, imports climbed by 26.5% to US$68.56 billion, yielding a trade surplus of US$30.32 billion.

In terms of industry-specific performance, semiconductor exports surged by 179% to reach US$41 billion, exceeding the US$40 billion threshold for the second consecutive month. This growth was fueled by persistently high global prices for memory products. Data indicates that South Korea’s exports to the United States experienced a significant uptick, driven by investment projects in AI data centers by major high-tech companies. These exports soared by 68.7% to US$17.4 billion.

Kim Jeong-hwan, South Korea’s Minister of Trade, Industry, and Energy, commented on the robust performance of the semiconductor sector, noting that it has spurred growth across 19 out of the 20 major export categories in South Korea. This underscores substantial progress in diversifying the nation’s export portfolio.