In the first half of this year, South Chungcheong Province's exports nearly reached $97.8 billion (about 143 trillion won). That is more than the province's exports for all of last year, with semiconductors alone accounting for 60%.
South Chungcheong Province said on the 23rd that exports by corporations in the province totaled $97.799 billion through June. That is $719 million more than the full-year exports last year.
The province's export growth was thanks to a sharp rise in demand for memory chips. In the first half, exports of memory semiconductors from South Chungcheong Province were $59.239 billion, up 278.9% from the same period last year ($15.635 billion). Over the same period, computers (electronic data storage devices) also rose 259.6% to $11.747 billion.
They were followed by flat-panel displays ($4.521 billion), system semiconductors ($3.838 billion), diesel ($2.652 billion), and jet fuel and kerosene ($1.54 billion).
By country, Hong Kong was the largest at $16.731 billion. It was followed by Vietnam ($16.59 billion), the United States ($16.176 billion), China ($11.122 billion), and Taiwan ($11.101 billion).
In the first half of this year, the province's imports were $20.559 billion, up 9.4% from the same period last year. The resulting trade surplus was $77.24 billion. That exceeds the full-year figure last year ($59.404 billion). Compared with the same period last year, it rose 223.1%.
South Chungcheong's trade surplus accounts for 56.1% of the national total of $137.689 billion. It has ranked No. 1 nationwide for 15 consecutive months since April last year. The province said that if this trend continues, exports this year could exceed $200 billion.
An official with South Chungcheong Province said, "Thanks to the strong performance of key industries such as semiconductors driven by expanded investment in AI infrastructure, we were able to post strong results," adding, "As economic uncertainty is expected to persist, we will minimize the trade risks facing corporations and spare no support for developing new markets and other efforts."