Korea’s Exports in June Surpass US$100 Billion for the First Time

South Korea has set a new milestone by surpassing US$100 billion in exports for the first time in its history during June 2026.
Semiconductors — a key sector — are driving overall exports with June’s performance exceeding $40 billion. Moreover, the nation’s trade surplus also surpassed $30 billion for the first time, achieving remarkable results in terms of both quantity and quality.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) recently announced that June’s exports recorded $102.25 billion, a 70.9% surge compared to the same month of last year.
This marks the first time in history that Korea’s monthly exports have exceeded $100 billion. It far surpassed the previous all-time record of $87.8 billion set in May, by passing the $90 billion mark and directly entering the $100 billion era.

With this achievement, South Korea has become the fourth country in the world to reach $100 billion in monthly exports, following Germany, China, and the United States.
The nation’s monthly exports continued their streak of setting all-time monthly records for 13 consecutive months, following a turnaround to year-on-year growth in June of last year.
Average daily exports, based on the number of actual working days, climbed by 59.5% to $4.54 billion, marking a new all-time high for the second consecutive month following May ($4.28 billion).
The main driver of growth was semiconductors. Powered by the exponential demand for memory fueled by the global boom in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure investment, fixed prices surged, resulting in semiconductor exports in June recording $44.82 billion, a 199.5% increase year-on-year.
The price of DDR5 16Gb RAM continued its upward trend, rising from $31.0 in March to $35.3 in April, $37.5 in May, and $40.0 in June, boosting Korea’s export figures.
This marks the first time that the nation’s monthly semiconductor exports have surpassed $40 billion. Semiconductors have also recorded their highest-ever monthly figures for 15 consecutive months.
Computer exports, driven by high demand for solid-state drives (SSDs) from big-tech companies, recorded $5.41 billion, representing a 308.8% increase. Wireless communication devices ($1.55 billion, up 51.9%) also showed an upward trend, centered on finished mobile phones.
Balanced growth was achieved as exports of 18 out of the top-20 major product categories increased. The export growth rate for non-semiconductor items reached 28%.
By region, seven out of the nine major export destinations saw significant gains. Notably, exports to China and the United States, Korea’s largest trading partners, both surpassed $20 billion. This was thanks to a substantial increase in semiconductor exports driven by expanded investment in AI servers in both countries.
Exports for the first half of this year (January to June) reached $496.7 billion, a 48.4% increase compared to the same period last year, setting a new all-time record.
If this momentum continues into the second half, this year’s exports are expected to reach the dream target of $1 trillion.

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Korea’s exports in May 2026 reached $87.75 billion, breaking the all-time monthly record. Driven by a super-cycle of demand, the semiconductor sector also recorded its highest-ever performance, offsetting the effect of reduced working days due to the holidays.
Monthly exports have exceeded $80 bil. for three consecutive months since first surpassing the $80 bil. mark in March.
Despite the reduced number of working days, exports hit a record high, with the daily average export value rising by 60.7% to $4.28 bil. This marks the first time the figure has surpassed the $4 bil. mark.
Semiconductors were once again the driving force behind exports this month. Semiconductor exports in May reached $37.15 bil., a 169.4% increase from the same month last year, marking an all-time high as they surpassed $30 bil. for the third consecutive month.
Exports of non-semiconductor items also showed a steep upward trend, rising by an average of 16%.
As unit prices for petroleum and petrochemical products rose significantly due to the impact of the Middle East war, exports of petroleum products increased by 46.6% to $5.25 bil., while exports of petrochemicals rose by 11.1% to $3.7 bil.

However, automobiles, a key export product, fell by 5.9% to $5.83 bil. due to reduced working days, fires at domestic parts suppliers, and logistical disruptions caused by the Middle East war.
By region, exports increased in seven out of the nine major export destinations; exports to China recorded $18.9 bil., an 80.9% increase, driven by semiconductors — the largest export item — showing a triple-digit growth rate.
Exports to the United States also rose by 59.1% to $15.97 bil., driven by increased exports of semiconductors, computers, and electrical equipment.
Last month’s trade balance recorded a surplus of $26.95 bil., an increase of $20.03 bil. compared to the same month last year. The cumulative balance from January to May was $109.11 bil., breaking the previous record for the highest annual trade surplus ($95.2 bil. in 2017) in five months.

 
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Recording trade surplus of $4.28 billion
Korea’s exports in March continued their growth trend for the sixth consecutive month despite a decrease in the number of working days, marking the tenth consecutive month of trade surplus. Semiconductor exports, the country’s largest export item, drove this growth by achieving their highest performance in 24 months.
According to the nation’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, exports in March totaled $56.56 billion, a 3.1% increase year-on-year, while imports recorded $52.28 billion, a 12.3% decrease over the same period. Consequently, the trade balance ― exports minus imports ― reached $4.28 billion, marking a streak of surpluses for the tenth consecutive month.
March exports were very positive, increasing compared to the previous year despite a 1.5 working days decrease (two-day on weekdays). Average daily exports, adjusted for working days, also recorded $2.51 billion ― a 9.9% increase from the previous year.
This trade surplus was the result of increased exports in seven of the 15 major export items. In particular, IT items (semiconductors, displays, computers, and wireless communication devices) led the nation’s exports by recording positive growth for the first time in 24 months since March 2022.

Exports of semiconductors, the largest export item, reached $11.7 billion in March ― marking the highest performance in 24 months since March 2022 ($13.1 billion) and continuing a positive trend for five consecutive months.
Exports of displays increased by 16.2% year-on-year, showing an upward trend for eight consecutive months, while computer SSDs rose by 24.5%, marking three consecutive months of growth.
Exports of wireless communication devices increased by 5.5%, breaking a three-month negative trend and turning positive.
Meanwhile, exports of ships surged by a massive 102.1%, continuing their positive trend for eight consecutive months. Exports of biohealth products also rose by 10.0%, marking five consecutive months of growth. In addition, exports of petroleum products also turned positive after just one month.

By region, exports to China (+0.4%), Korea’s largest export destination, recorded positive growth in March, following January. Notably, the daily average export figure ($470 million), adjusted for working days, increased by 7.1%, maintaining a positive trend for four consecutive months since December of last year.
Exports to the United States reached $10.9 billion (+11.6%), recording a double-digit growth rate and continuing an upward trend for eight consecutive months, setting a new record for the highest export value ever for the month of March. Meanwhile, exports to Central and South America (+14.4%) also continued a positive trend this year, increasing for three consecutive months.
 
 
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Korea’s Exports Surpass $700 Billion

 Last year, Korea’s exports surpassed $700 billion for the first time, achieving a record high. Fueled by the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, semiconductor exports reached a record high of $173.4 bil., driving the overall export growth. Exports in December last year increased by 13.4%, the highest-ever in December.
According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), last year’s exports reached $709.7 bil., a 3.8% increase from the previous year, surpassing the previous record set in 2024. Daily average exports also rose by 4.6% to $2.64 bil., reaching a record high.
Semiconductor exports, the nation’s largest export item, surged by 22.2% to $173.4 bil., driven by rising prices and the booming investments in AI and data centers. This marked another record high, following the previous year’s record.
Automobile exports also reached a record high, rising by 1.7% to $72 bil. While exports to the United States, the largest market, declined due to the impact of U.S. tariffs, exports to the European Union (EU) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) saw positive growth, driven by robust exports of eco-friendly and used vehicles.

Bio and health exports increased by 7.9% to $16.3 bil., continuing their positive trend for the second consecutive year. Exports of ships (up 24.9% to $32 bil.), computers (up 4.5% to $13.8 bil.), and wireless communication devices (up 0.4% to $17.3 bil.) also showed strong performance. With the growing popularity of K-food and beauty products, exports of agricultural, fishery, and food products ($12.4 bil.), cosmetics ($11.4 bil.), and electrical instruments ($16.7 bil.) have surged to record highs.
On the other hand, exports of petroleum products decreased (down 9.6% to $ 45.5 bil.) due to falling oil prices, while exports of petrochemicals (down 11.4% to $42.5 bil.) and steel (down 9.0% to $30.3 bil.) decreased due to global oversupply.

1.7% to $130.8 bil. Exports to the USA fell by 3.8% to $122.9 bil. While exports of most items, including automobiles, general machinery, and auto parts, declined due to the effects of U.S. tariffs, the double-digit growth in semiconductor exports mitigated the decline.
Last year, the trade surplus with the United States was $49.5 bil., down by $6.1 bil. from the previous year. Exports to ASEAN increased by 7.4% to $122.5 bil., and exports to the EU increased 3.0% to $70.1 bil. Exports to the CIS also grew by 18.6% to $13.7 bil.
Last year, Korea’s imports decreased by 0.02% year-on-year to $631.7 bil. Non-energy imports, such as semiconductor manufacturing equipment, increased, but energy imports decreased due to factors such as falling oil prices. Korea’s trade balance last year recorded a $78 bil. surplus.

Exports also hit a record monthly high in December, reaching $69.57 bil., a 13.4% increase. Korea’s monthly exports have continued to increase year-on-year for the 11th consecutive month since turning upward in February.
Semiconductor exports increased 43.2% year-on-year to $20.77 bil., marking the 10th consecutive month of growth and a record high. However, automobile exports decreased by 1.5% to $5.95 bil. due to the effects of U.S. tariffs and increased overseas production of Korean automobiles.

Exports to China increased 10.1% to $13 bil., marking the second consecutive month of positive growth. Exports to the United States rose by 3.8% to $12.3 bil., breaking the record for December and returning to growth after five months.
 
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Last year’s Korean exports broke an all-time record. Semiconductor exports recorded the highest ever, leading overall exports. Last December’s exports also increased by 6.6%, continuing the 15th consecutive month of positive growth.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) recently released that the nation’s exports in 2024 were tallied at $683.8 billion, up 8.2% from the previous year.
Imports decreased by 1.6% from the previous year to $642.67 billion. The trade balance thus recorded a surplus of $51.8 billion.
Annual exports surpassed the previous record of $683.6 billion achieved in 2022. Daily average exports ($2.53 billion) also surpassed the previous record of $2.51 billion.
MOTIE analyzed that the improved export performance is attributable to the fact that IT items such as semiconductors and consumer goods showed favorable trends evenly in a situation where international oil prices stabilized downward.
Exports of a total of eight out of the 15 major export items increased. Semiconductor exports increased 43.9% year-on-year to $141.9 billion, breaking the previous record of $129.2 billion in 2022.
It is evaluated that the semiconductor exports expanded centered on high value-added items such as DDR5 and high-bandwidth memory (HBM), despite the decline in general memory prices in the fourth quarter of last year, and showed an upward trend toward the end of the year.
Shipbuilding showed an increase of 17.6%, petrochemicals 5.0%, and biohealth 13.1%.
Automobiles recorded $70.8 billion in export sales, a 0.1% decrease year-on-year due to some production disruptions caused by strikes in major automakers and parts companies in the second half of the year, but exceeded $70 billion for the second consecutive year.
Among the nine major export markets, exports to seven regions, including the USA, China, and ASEAN, increased. Exports to the USA increased by 10.5% to $127.8 billion, while exports to China increased by 6.6% to $133 billion. In particular, exports to the USA broke the record for the seventh consecutive year.
December’s exports increased by 6.6% year-on-year to $61.38 billion, while imports during the same period increased by 3.3% to $54.89 billion.
As exports continued to increase for 15 consecutive months, the trade balance recorded a surplus of $6.49 billion, continuing a surplus trend for 19 consecutive months.

 
 
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The nation’s September exports increased by 7.5% from the same month last year, continuing the 12-month positive export trend. According to data recently released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), exports recorded the highest performance ever for September and the highest performance this year at US$58.77 bil. The average daily exports in September were recorded at $2.94 bil., increasing by 12.9%.
Among the 15 major export items, the largest increases were in semiconductors, wireless communication devices, computers, automobiles, ships, and bio-health items.
Semiconductor exports, the largest export item, increased by 37.1% to $13.6 billion. These broke the record for the first time in three months since June and continued the 11-month consecutive increase. Computer exports increased by 132% to $1.5 billion, growing for nine consecutive months; and exports of wireless communication devices increased by 19% to $1.9 billion, rising for seven consecutive months.
decrease in the number of operating days (-1.0 days). They turned positive for the first time in four months, achieving the highest performance as of September.
Ship exports increased by 76.2% to $2.4 billion, and the growth rate exceeded 50% for the second consecutive month. Bio-health exports also grew by 9.9% to $1.2 billion, increasing for the third consecutive month.
Exports to China increased by 6.3% to $11.7 billion, the highest performance this year, due to an increase in Korea’s exports of semiconductors and wireless communication devices. The trade balance with China also turned to a surplus ($500 million) for the first time in seven months, thanks to the favorable export trend.
Exports to the United States increased by 3.4% to $10.4 billion, the highest ever in September, and renewing its monthly record for 14 consecutive months.
Exports to the EU increased by 5.1% to $6 billion, with a significant increase in exports of IT items such as wireless communications and computers. It has recorded its highest monthly export record for two consecutive months.

 
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Recording 11th consecutive month of positive growth
Last month’s exports by Korea reached US$57.9 billion, continuing an 11-month upward trend. In particular, semiconductor exports achieved the highest performance ever in August, adding to the momentum. Cumulative exports to China surpassed those to the United States for the first time this year, becoming the largest export destination again.
Recently, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced that exports last month increased 11.4% year-on-year to $57.9 billion, while imports increased 6% to $54.07 billion. The positive trade balance thus reached $3.83 billion, continuing to show a surplus for 15 consecutive months.
By sector, semiconductor exports increased 38.8% year-on-year to $11.9 billion, showing a positive trend for the 4th consecutive month of over $11 billion. Computer exports increased 183% to $1.5 billion, a triple-digit increase. Wireless communication device exports also increased by 54% to $1.8 billion.

Automobile exports decreased by 4.3% to $5.1 billion, however, due to the modernization of some companies’ production lines and the decrease in operating rates due to wage and group negotiations ― but ship exports increased by 80% to $2.8 billion, turning positive for the first time in three months.
By region, eight out of nine major markets showed favorable trends. The region with the largest exports by Korea was China, which recorded $11.4 billion ― up 7.9% due to the improved business conditions in the information and communication technology (IT) industry.
Exports to China reached $86.2 billion from January to August this year, surpassing exports to the United States during the same period, emerging as the largest export country.
Exports to the USA increased by 15.5% to $84.7 billion due to favorable market trends in IT items such as semiconductors and computers.

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The nation’s exports in April recorded a double-digit increase. It has been ‘export-plus’ for seven months. This is thanks to the increase in exports of key items such as semiconductors, automobiles, etc.
In particular, semiconductor exports surged 56% compared to the same month last year. By country, exports to the United States reached an all-time high. The trade balance has also been in surplus for 11 consecutive months since June of last year.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) recently announced that exports in April amounted to US$56.26 billion (about KRW 78 trillion), a 13.8% increase compared to the same month last year. Imports increased 5.4% over the same period to $54.73 billion. The trade balance, which subtracts imports from exports, was $1.53 billion.
In April, exports of 13 of the 15 major export items increased. This is the largest number of item exports this year.
Information and communication-related items such as semiconductors, displays, computers, and wireless communication devices recorded positive scores for all items for two consecutive months. Combined exports also achieved the highest growth rate of 46.6% this year and continued to increase for six consecutive months.
Semiconductor exports, the largest export item, recorded $9.96 billion, the second highest ever in April. It increased by 56.1% compared to the same month last year, recording positive exports for six consecutive months.

Display exports increased by 16.3% compared to the same month last year, to $1.43 billion, recording the highest performance of the year and increasing for nine consecutive months. Exports of computer SSDs (76.2%) and wireless communication devices (11.4%) also recorded the highest growth rates this year, increasing for four and two consecutive months, respectively.
Automobile exports increased by 10.3% compared to the same month last year, breaking a record-high export amount. It recorded $6.79 billion in exports, surpassing the previous biggest record of exports in November last year ($6.53 billion).
Exports of general machinery turned positive in just one month, reaching an all-time high of $4.68 billion (1.5%) as of April. Ship exports also increased by 5.6%, showing positive growth for nine consecutive months.
Biohealth exports recorded a double-digit growth rate (21.3%) for the first time this year. Exports are positive for six consecutive months. Petroleum products (19.0%) increased for two consecutive months.
Exports increased in seven of the nine major export regions. In particular, exports to the United States recorded $11.4 billion, showing a 24.3% increase compared to the same month last year, the highest export amount ever, breaking the record in December last year ($11.3 billion) in four months.
Exports to China recorded $10.5 billion, a 9.9% increase compared to the same month last year. Exports to the nation increased for two consecutive months, exceeding $10 billion, following $10.5 billion last March.
Exports to Central and South America (38.2%) showed the highest growth rate among the nine major regions, recording a positive figure for four consecutive months. Exports to ASEAN (10.5%), Japan (18.4%), India (18.0%), and the Middle East (1.0%) also increased compared to the same month last year.
Imports in April amounted to $54.73 billion, up 5.4% from the same month last year, as both energy and non-energy imports increased. It has increased for the first time in 14 months since February 2023.
Imports of energy amounted to $12.5 billion, showing a total increase of 14.6% due to increased imports of crude oil (17.8%) and gas (21.9%). Import volume increased by 12% for crude oil and 37% for gas due to the increase in refinery operation rates and increased demand for gas for power-generation and industrial purposes. Imports of non-energy recorded $42.23 billion, up 2.9%.

  
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