Semiconductors drive South Korea's exports to a record high in Q1.

According to a report by South Korea's Yonhap News Agency on May 6th, driven by the semiconductor boom, South Korea's exports in the first quarter of 2026 hit a record high. Data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of South Korea shows that the export volume in the first quarter reached 219.9 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 37.8%, exceeding the levels of the same period in 2022 and 2024. The global economy has recovered with the investment in artificial intelligence (AI) servers. South Korea's export growth rate has exceeded 30%, and it is expected to surpass Japan in terms of export volume in the first quarter. To reflect industrial changes, the government has expanded the key export categories from 15 to 20 and refined the statistical classification system for semiconductors and other products.

Looking at different categories, semiconductors have become the biggest growth engine, with an export volume of 78.5 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 139%. Among them, affected by the rise in storage prices, DRAM increased by 249.1% to 35.79 billion US dollars, NAND increased by 377.5% to 5.39 billion US dollars, and system semiconductors increased by 13.5% to 12.11 billion US dollars. The overall automobile exports decreased slightly by 0.3% to 17.2 billion US dollars; the exports of bio - health, textiles, and secondary batteries increased by 9.6%, 7.1%, and 9.9% respectively. In addition, driven by K - consumption, the exports of cosmetics and agricultural and aquatic products increased by 21.5% and 7.4% respectively, and the exports of non - ferrous metals and electrical equipment also maintained relatively rapid growth.

In terms of imports, the import volume in the first quarter was 169.4 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 10.9%. Among them, energy imports decreased by 7.2%, and non - energy imports increased by 15.4%. The trade surplus reached 50.4 billion US dollars, showing a significant improvement year - on - year. South Korea ranks fifth in the global export rankings, and its growth rate ranks first among major countries. The government said that the high price of semiconductors is expected to continue and continue to support exports, but the situation in the Middle East, supply - chain instability, and uncertainties in the trade environment still pose risks. The government will stabilize export growth through trade finance and logistics support measures.

(Economic and Trade Window of the Consulate - General in Busan)