(Sejong = Yonhap News) Reporter Jang Bo-in = Korea recorded its highest monthly exports of $120 billion last month, exceeding $800 billion in annual exports for the first time in history.
Last month, the company's flagship semiconductor business recorded over $60 billion in sales, accounting for 49.9% of total exports, and the trade surplus was close to $50 billion.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 1st that September exports amounted to $120.94 billion, an 83.5% increase from the same period last year.
This is the first time that monthly exports have exceeded $120 billion, and it is the highest record ever, exceeding $102 billion in June.
Average daily exports, considering the number of operating days, increased 105% to $5.63 billion, exceeding $5 billion for the first time.
Thanks to this, the cumulative export amount from January to September reached $814.5 billion, far exceeding last year's total export amount ($709.3 billion), which was the highest ever.
If the current trend is continued, achieving the dream goal of annual exports of $1 trillion is within reach.
Semiconductor exports in September amounted to $60.3 billion, an increase of 262.8% compared to September last year, reaching the $60 billion mark for the first time in history.
After recording more than $40 billion for the past three consecutive months, it immediately surpassed $60 billion.
The previous record for monthly semiconductor exports was $46.7 billion in August.
Semiconductors continued to perform well as demand for memory continued to increase, export volumes expanded, and fixed prices continued to increase.
The price of DDR5 16Gb rose steadily from $37.5 last May to $48.0 last month, and the price of NAND 128Gb rose steadily from $26.5 to $30.6 during the same period.
Other IT items also showed strength.
Computer exports increased by 435.3% as demand for enterprise solid-state drives (SSDs) increased due to the spread of agentic AI and increased investment in global AI infrastructure. The export amount was $7 billion, the highest monthly performance ever.
Wireless communication devices continued to be positive for 11 consecutive months, recording $2.14 billion (up 23.4%) due to strong sales of premium models such as the Galaxy Z8 series and S26 Ultra and increased exports of iPhone components.
Exports of items excluding semiconductors increased by 23%.
The export amount of 11 of the 20 major export items increased, including petroleum products ($7.22 billion, 72.0% ↑), petrochemicals ($3.95 billion, 5.1% ↑), and ships ($3.76 billion, 29.9% ↑).
Steel ($2.24 billion, ↑3.3%) showed a steady trend due to increased demand for AI data centers in the United States despite strengthening regulations such as tariffs in the United States and the introduction of import quotas (TRQ) in the European Union (EU).
Automobile exports decreased by 5.5% due to the base effect caused by the Chuseok holiday timing shift and sluggish used car exports, and agricultural, fisheries and food exports also decreased by 4.7% due to the decrease in operating days.
Cosmetic exports showed an even increase in major regions such as China, the United States, ASEAN, and the EU, reaching $1.51 billion (up 31.4%), breaking the all-time record for the previous period.
By region, exports increased in 6 out of 9 regions.
Exports to China increased by 122.7% to $26.01 billion, and exports to the United States increased by 137.0% to $24.33 billion.
Exports to ASEAN (USD 21.29 billion) also exceeded USD 20 billion for the first time as exports of major items such as semiconductors, petroleum products, and ships increased evenly.
September imports increased by 26.0% to $71.09 billion.
Energy imports (USD 12.96 billion) increased by 38.0%, and semiconductor equipment imports (USD 3.44 billion) also increased by 50.8%.
The trade balance recorded a surplus of $49.85 billion, exceeding $40 billion for the first time in history and approaching $50 billion.
The cumulative balance from January to September was a surplus of $252.5 billion, an increase of $202.7 billion compared to the same period last year.
Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jeong-gwan said, "This is a valuable achievement that once again demonstrates the power of our industry and companies. We will respond preemptively to prevent unexpected external variables from having a negative impact on our exports so that we can continue the export momentum in the remaining fourth quarter."
