SEOUL, South Korea / RankWire.AI / – In the first 20 days of October, South Korea’s outbound trade experienced a remarkable increase, with exports reaching $61.6 billion, largely fueled by record-breaking semiconductor shipments. The Korea Customs Service published this data on Wednesday. The average daily export value, calculated over working days, climbed to $4.74 billion, marking the highest for the first 20 days of any month. Meanwhile, imports grew by 42.8%, totaling $47.1 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $14.5 billion.
The primary driver behind this surge was semiconductors. Exports of chips soared by 222.5%, reaching $27.5 billion during this period, compared to approximately $8.5 billion shipped a year earlier. Semiconductors now represent 44.7% of the total exports, the largest share among all products. This growth continues the strong momentum of Korean chipmakers, including Samsung, which has been expanding its memory offerings for AI applications.
Other key export sectors also showed notable improvement. Shipments of petroleum products increased by 68.3% from the previous year. Exports of automobiles went up by 40.9%, and steel products saw a rise of 42.6%. The widespread gains across these vital industries, alongside semiconductors, contributed to the overall upward trend. Collectively, these sectors helped push the daily export average to a record high for this period.
Exports to China and the US Experience More Than Doubling
Trade with China expanded significantly, with exports increasing by 154.4% year-on-year in the first 20 days of October. Shipments to the United States also grew sharply by 154.9%, slightly surpassing the growth rate to China. Additionally, exports to Vietnam and the European Union saw increases during the same timeframe, according to customs statistics. These figures indicate rising demand across South Korea’s top export markets.
While exports rose rapidly, imports increased at a slower pace, up 42.8% to $47.1 billion. This resulted in a trade surplus of $14.5 billion in the first 20 days of October. The surplus was largely driven by higher exports of high-value goods such as chips. Overall, exports outpaced imports by approximately 31%, positioning South Korea favorably as the final quarter of the year begins.
Exports for the Year Reach $876.3 Billion
From January through October 20, South Korea’s cumulative exports totaled $876.3 billion. The country’s overall trade surplus for this period stands at $266.9 billion. These latest figures build on earlier strong results, including a 68.7% increase in August, when exports reached $98.25 billion, supported again by robust chip sales, as reported in August.
The early data from the first 20 days provides an initial outlook on South Korea’s full-month trade performance, with official October figures typically published early the following month. Semiconductors will continue to be a crucial factor, given their 44.7% share of total exports. The growth seen in petroleum, automobiles, and steel further suggests a broad-based strength in the export sector.