In the second quarter of this year, Korea's exports jumped sharply, led by semiconductors and other electrical and electronic products, hitting a record high on a quarterly basis, while a "concentration of exports" toward top large corporations also deepened. The boom in semiconductors concentrated strong export performance in large corporations.
According to the "preliminary trade statistics by corporate characteristics for the second quarter of 2026" released by the Ministry of Data and Statistics (MODS) and the Korea Customs Service on the 11th, second-quarter exports came to $275.5 billion, up 57.3% from a year earlier. Compared with the first-quarter growth rate (38.4%), the increase widened significantly.
By corporate size, large corporations' exports were $206.0 billion, up 81.8% from a year earlier, while medium-standing corporations and small and medium-sized corporations each rose 10.9% and 13.1% to $35.9 billion and $32.7 billion. The growth rate of large corporations' exports was more than six times higher than that of medium-standing and small and medium-sized corporations.
Accordingly, export concentration in top corporations also increased. The trade concentration of the top 10 corporations by export value in the second quarter (55.3%) rose 17.0 percentage points (p) from a year earlier. The export share of the top 100 corporations also climbed 10.0 p to 76.3% over the same period. Both figures are the highest since statistics began in the first quarter of 2015. A Ministry of Data and Statistics (MODS) official said, "With the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, global big tech has expanded investment, and export concentration increased as results surged mainly among semiconductor export corporations."
By industry, mining and manufacturing exports were $247.5 billion, up 64.9% from a year earlier. In particular, electrical and electronic exports jumped 109.8%, leading the increase. Metal products and petrochemicals also rose 37.8% and 26.3%, respectively. Wholesale and retail grew 14.3%, and other industries increased 0.1%, holding roughly steady. By the nature of goods, capital goods exports were $189.8 billion, up 87.1% from a year earlier, and raw materials rose 25.2% to $60.4 billion. Consumer goods recorded $25.3 billion, down 0.5%.