South Korea chip exports surge 188% in early June, lifting total trade growth to 60%

Robust semiconductor shipments drove a sharp acceleration in South Korean exports during the first three weeks of June, signaling sustained strength in the global chip cycle.

By Handelsavisen Newsroom · Automated 2026-06-22 01:42 UTC · 1 min read

South Korea’s export engine accelerated sharply in the first 20 days of June, with outbound shipments jumping 60.4% year-on-year.

The data, released Monday, highlights the continued dominance of the semiconductor sector in driving the country’s external trade performance.

The broader export basket also showed strength, with non-semiconductor goods contributing to the overall 60% gain.

Semiconductor exports were the primary catalyst, surging 188.4% year-on-year over the same period.

This triple-digit growth underscores the resilience of demand for memory and logic chips, reversing previous periods of softness in the global technology supply chain.

The broader export basket also showed strength, with non-semiconductor goods contributing to the overall 60% gain.

This breadth suggests that the recovery is not solely reliant on the chip cycle but is supported by wider industrial output and global trade conditions.