Mid-June Exports Hit Record High of $62 Billion, Semiconductor Share Exceeds 40%

South Korea's exports for the first 20 days of this month reached $62 billion, marking an all-time high for this period.

Semiconductors led the growth, accounting for more than 40% of total exports.

According to the Korea Customs Service on Monday, June 22, the preliminary export value for the period of June 1–20 stood at $62 billion, a 60.4% increase compared to the same period last year.

This is the highest figure ever recorded for the first 20 days of any month.

The previous record was $54.3 billion, set during the first 20 days of March, meaning the record was broken in just three months.

The number of working days was 15, one day more than the 14.0 days recorded a year ago.

Adjusting for this, the average daily export value rose by 49.7% to $4.13 billion.

By product, semiconductor exports surged by 188.4% to $25.5 billion.

This also marks a record high for the first 20 days of a month.

The share of semiconductors in total exports rose by 18.3 percentage points (p) to 41.2%.

Exports of computer peripherals jumped by 293.3%, driven by increased demand for SSDs used in artificial intelligence (AI) servers.

Exports of passenger vehicles (2.3%) and petroleum products (39.0%) also saw growth.

By country, exports to major markets all increased, including China (86.9%), the United States (53.9%), Vietnam (75.5%), the European Union (13.6%), and Taiwan (103.6%).

The combined share of the top three trading partners—China, the U.S., and Vietnam—reached 49.0%, nearing 50%.

Imports totaled $44.5 billion, a 23.2% increase from a year ago.

By product, imports of semiconductors (55.5%), crude oil (18.8%), semiconductor manufacturing equipment (51.9%), machinery (2.8%), and gas (8.3%) all increased.

Imports of energy resources (crude oil, gas, and coal) rose by 19.9%.

Crude oil imports, which have been directly affected by the Middle East conflict alongside high exchange rate trends, recorded $5.4 billion, a slight decrease from the $6 billion recorded during the same period last month.

Imports by country increased from China (41.1%), the United States (26.0%), the European Union (16.4%), Japan (14.2%), and Taiwan (33.8%).

With exports exceeding imports, the trade balance recorded a surplus of $17.5 billion.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.