While Korean exports continue to boom at an all-time high, it has been found that it has ranked first in the Chinese import market for six consecutive months.
Korea, which has expanded its presence in major markets such as China and the United States thanks to the rapid growth of semiconductors, is expected to achieve annual exports of $1 trillion for the first time as early as the 20th of this month.
According to the Korea International Trade Association's overseas trade statistics on the 14th, Korea ranked second after Taiwan in the Chinese import market from January to March of this year, but rose to first place in April and maintained the lead until September.
China imported $236.2 billion worth of goods from Korea from January to September this year, a 75.1% increase over the same period last year.
Each country's import statistics show some differences from the export amount calculated domestically due to factors such as whether transportation costs and tariffs are reflected and the time of compilation.
Korea's share in the Chinese import market was the highest at 9.8%.
On a cumulative basis from January to September, it is the first time in seven years since 2019 that Korea regained its position as China's largest importer.
Semiconductors led the increase in exports.
Korea's semiconductor exports from January to September this year amounted to $340.3 billion, of which $105.4 billion went to China. Semiconductor exports to China surged 221.5% compared to the same period last year.
According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, semiconductor exports to China from the 1st to the 25th of last month amounted to $14.8 billion, an increase of 331.0% compared to the same period last year, recording a triple-digit increase for 9 consecutive months.
Exports of computers (264%), general machinery (26%), agricultural and fisheries products (21%), and cosmetics (23%) also increased, leading to an increase of 133.6% in total exports to China last month to $26.98 billion.
Korea's position in the U.S. import market has also been strengthened.
US imports of Korean products from January to September this year amounted to $129.2 billion, a 35.2% increase from the same period last year.
Korea ranked as the 6th largest importer of the United States, following Mexico, Canada, Taiwan, China, and Vietnam. It rose three places from 9th place during the same period last year.
Semiconductor exports to the United States have recorded a triple-digit increase every month since January of this year. Last month, it surged 497.0% to $5.81 billion, and total exports to the U.S., including this, also increased 185.8% to $24.9 billion.
Thanks to strong exports, the cumulative trade surplus as of October this year was $294.9 billion, significantly exceeding the previous annual record of $95.2 billion in 2017.
The trade balance with China, which had been in deficit since 2023, also returned to a cumulative surplus of $43.3 billion as of last month. The trade surplus with the United States reached $102.3 billion, exceeding $100 billion for the first time in history.
We are on the verge of achieving annual exports of $1 trillion.
As of the 10th, cumulative exports amounted to $963.7 billion, leaving $36.3 billion to reach $1 trillion. The average daily export amount this month is $4.46 billion, and if the current trend continues, it is expected to exceed $1 trillion around the 19th or 20th.
However, some point out that to continue the export boom, we must be wary of excessive dependence on semiconductors.
Lee Jun, head of the Strategic Industry Research Center at the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade, said, "It is good that semiconductors are driving exports, but there are other industries whose exports have increased due to price effects or whose competitiveness has weakened due to the influence of China, etc. We must be careful not to miss signals of crisis in other industries because they are obscured by the light of semiconductors."
Director Lee continued, “In order to structurally maintain $1 trillion in exports, there are limits to exporting only existing products,” and emphasized, “We need to expand our base so that we can export non-memory fields and service goods in addition to memory.”
An official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy explained, "It is true that semiconductor exports are large, but the proportion of exports in other fields is also significant, with exports excluding semiconductors increasing by 23% as of September," and added, "Fields such as consumer goods and defense industry are also growing, and efforts are continuing to diversify exports."
