In 2025, small and midsize enterprises' exports rose 6.9% from a year earlier to $118.6 billion (about 170.0486 trillion won), marking an all-time high. By item, automobiles and cosmetics led export growth, and by country, exports increased in five markets including China, Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups on the 28th released "2025 SME export trends (preliminary)."
By period in 2025, all of the second through fourth quarters posted record quarterly highs. In the first half, exports of some key items fell, but most turned to growth in the second half. The growth rate in the second half (+10.8%) was clearly higher than in the first half (+2.8%).
The number of exporting SMEs was 98,219, up 2.5% from the previous year (95,815), reaching an all-time high. New exporters increased 2.2% and continuing exporters rose 2.6%, while exporters that halted shipments fell 2.0%, improving overall indicators.
Among the top 10 SME export items, automobiles ($9.0 billion), cosmetics ($8.3 billion) and electronic application devices ($2.7 billion) set all-time records. In particular, automobile exports jumped 76.3% and cosmetics exports rose 21.5%, showing double-digit growth. Semiconductor manufacturing equipment ($3.2 billion) and semiconductors ($3.2 billion) also posted strong exports.
Automobile exports surged in Kyrgyzstan (+106.0%) and Kazakhstan (+107.2%), CIS countries, as demand and recognition for Korean used cars increased. Exports of used cars to the Middle East, including the UAE (+91.2%), also expanded.
Cosmetics exports diversified beyond the main markets of the United States and China to the European Union (+77.6%) and the Middle East (+54.6%) on the back of K-beauty's popularity. The number of destination countries for cosmetics was 204, and export value was $8.32 billion, both annual records.
The top 10 SME export destinations were China, the United States, Vietnam and Japan, in that order. Among them, exports increased in five markets, including China, Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan. In China, exports of consumer goods such as cosmetics and apparel grew as K-fashion and lifestyle content spread through local social media platforms. With strong exports of the same products and plastic products, the market ended a three-year decline since 2022 and reemerged as the top export destination.
In the United States, despite uncertainties such as tariff risks, exports of cosmetics and electric power equipment (including transformers) hit all-time highs, recording the second-highest export total on record. By contrast, steel, subject to U.S. item tariffs, fell 8.6% due to weaker local demand. Aluminum rose 9.3% as Korea partially filled reduced volumes from existing major U.S.-bound suppliers.
SME online exports in 2025 totaled $1.1 billion, up 6.3% from the previous year ($1.04 billion), an all-time high. SMEs accounted for 75.6% of total domestic online exports.
Among top online export items, cosmetics saw a surge to Europe, including the United Kingdom (+261.7%) and the Netherlands (+138.0%), while apparel increased to the Chinese-speaking region, including China (+109.8%) and Taiwan (+149.8%), offsetting declines to the United States and Japan. The number of SME online exporters was 4,392, a sharp increase from the previous year (3,821), resuming growth.