The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) said on the 24th that exports for January–October this year hit an all-time high.
According to the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI), exports for January–October this year rose 2.3% from a year earlier to $579.2 billion. This is a record high for the same period. It set a new high for the first time in three years since 2022 ($577.0 billion).
Semiconductor exports reached $135.4 billion in January–October, up 18% from a year earlier, leading the export increase. Demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers has risen and memory prices have climbed. From April to October, monthly semiconductor exports hit all-time highs.
Automobiles, another key export item, recorded $59.6 billion in exports for January–October, up 1% from a year earlier. Exports to the United States fell 16%, while exports to the European Union (EU) and to Russia and Kazakhstan in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) rose 22% and 59%, respectively.
Ship exports also rose 34% to $26.9 billion, and bio-health increased 8% to $13.3 billion.
Kang Gam-chan, trade and investment policy director at the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI), said, "Despite challenging external conditions, including U.S. tariff measures and falling oil prices, exports have increased for five consecutive months since June, and the upward trend is expected to continue in November," adding, "We will mobilize all available resources, including financing and marketing, to sustain export growth through the end of the year and swiftly resolve difficulties on the export front."