South Korea’s Chip Exports Propel Record Growth

South Korea’s exports delivered robust growth in October, driven by a surge in semiconductor shipments amid the ongoing artificial intelligence boom. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, exports adjusted for working-day differences jumped 76.1 percent compared to a year earlier. The value of total shipments reached $115.3 billion, maintaining momentum after the previous month’s record of $121.1 billion. Chip exports soared 259.4 percent year-on-year, amounting to $56.44 billion, as demand for memory chips rose due to continued investment by major technology companies in AI infrastructure. Memory chip exports alone surged 360.5 percent to $50.14 billion. This rapid expansion is bringing South Korea closer to reaching its unprecedented $1 trillion annual export target. The country, home to leading memory-chip makers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, exceeded $900 billion in cumulative exports for the first ten months of the year. These figures position South Korea to become only the fourth nation ever to achieve $1 trillion in annual exports, underscoring the pivotal role of semiconductors in the nation’s trade performance.