South Korea's Exports Hit Record $28.6 Billion in First 10 Days of June, Semiconductors Account for Nearly 40%
Alina Collins
South Korea's exports reached a record $28.6 billion in June 1–10, up 85.9% year-on-year; semiconductor exports alone hit $11.1 billion — nearly 40% of the total — as the global AI infrastructure buildout drives unprecedented demand for Korean chips.
How big is $28.6 billion in 10 days?
Korea Customs Service data released June 11: exports for June 1–10 totaled $28.635 billion, up 85.9% year-on-year, surpassing the previous record of $25.2 billion set in April.
The trade surplus came in at $5.282 billion; both imports and exports expanded, but export growth far outpaced imports.
This means → Korea's exports are not "recovering" — they are breaking records at an accelerating pace. Ten days of trade already rivals the monthly export total of many smaller economies.
Why can semiconductors carry nearly 40%?
Semiconductor exports reached $11.068 billion, surging 205.8% year-on-year. Their share of total exports rose to 38.7%, up 15.1 percentage points from a year earlier.
The main driver is high-bandwidth memory — HBM, a type of high-speed memory designed for AI servers — and other advanced chips. Sustained global AI infrastructure investment is pulling Korean chip purchases sharply higher.
In plain terms = tech companies worldwide are racing to build AI data centers, and the scarcest input is advanced chips — Korea happens to be one of the largest suppliers.
What else is growing beyond chips?
Computer peripherals exports jumped 259.4% year-on-year, the fastest of any category; petroleum products rose 68.7%; ships rose 52.0%.
This reflects a broad, structural export expansion — not a single-category story.
But semiconductors alone account for nearly 40%, while all other categories combined make up the remaining 60% — chips remain the dominant force.
Who is buying? Why did China and Vietnam double?
Exports to Vietnam grew 102.9%, to China 101.4%, to the U.S. 54.4%, and to the EU 46.0%.
China, the U.S., and Vietnam together accounted for 47.3% of total exports.
This means → the doubling of exports to China signals a strong rebound in Chinese demand for Korean semiconductors and intermediate goods; exports to the U.S. growing over 50% despite trade-policy uncertainty shows Korea's U.S.-facing supply chain remains resilient.
What signal is the import side sending?
Imports for the same period totaled $23.352 billion, up 35.6% year-on-year. Semiconductor imports rose 71.3%, semiconductor equipment imports rose 52.2%, and crude oil imports rose 42.9%.
In plain terms = Korean chipmakers are not just shipping product — they are buying equipment and expanding capacity at scale, betting real capital on continued future demand.
Even with imports expanding, the trade surplus held at $5.282 billion; export growth significantly outpaced import growth, keeping the short-term trade structure healthy.
Can this record hold?
Semiconductors at nearly 40% of exports underscores Korea's heavy structural dependence on the chip industry.
This means → any slowdown in global AI demand or a turn in the semiconductor cycle would hit Korean exports first and hardest.
In plain terms = the $28.6 billion record is essentially a scorecard staked on AI demand continuing to surge — the record holds only as long as the AI boom does.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.