Last year, Korea's export value hit an all-time record high, but the "concentration" in a small number of large corporations also deepened to a record high. The robust exports driven by the semiconductor boom appear to have been concentrated among large corporations.
According to the 2025 trade statistics by corporate characteristics released by the Ministry of Data and Statistics (MODS) and the Korea Customs Service on the 10th, last year's exports reached $709.4 billion, up 3.8% from the previous year's $683.6 billion, marking a record high.
By corporate size, large corporations recorded $468.8 billion, up 3.4%, mid-sized corporations $125.2 billion (2.0%), and small and medium-sized enterprises $113.5 billion (7.2%). In terms of growth rate alone, small and medium-sized enterprises were highest at 7.2%, but in absolute value, large-corporation exports were more than four times those of small and medium-sized enterprises.
In particular, the trade concentration of the top 10 corporations by export value reached 39.0%, up 2.4 percentage points (p) from the previous year's 36.6%. This is a record high since statistics began in 2010 and means 10 corporations account for about 40% of total exports. The trade concentration of the top 100 corporations also rose 0.4 percentage points from the previous year to 67.1%.
An official at the Ministry of Data and Statistics (MODS) said the concentration of exports among large corporations appears to have increased due to the semiconductor boom.
By industry, mining and manufacturing exports rose 5.1% to $610.1 billion. Electric and electronic products (12.5%) and transport equipment (3.6%) were strong, while petrochemicals (-8.0%) and wood and paper (-10.4%) declined. Wholesale and retail trade fell 6.3% to $73.1 billion, and other industries rose 4.4% to $25.0 billion. By the nature of goods, capital goods exports increased 10.0% to $421.4 billion, while raw materials (-5.1%) and consumer goods (-2.4%) decreased.
In the fourth quarter last year, exports rose 8.4% year over year to $189.8 billion. During the same period, the trade concentration of the top 10 corporations surged to 43.4%, up 5.3 percentage points from 38.1% a year earlier. This concentration has intensified recently, at 36.1% in the first quarter last year, 37.9% in the second quarter, and 40.0% in the third quarter.