South Korea's ICT Exports Hit Record High in May Driven by AI Demand

SEOUL, June 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's exports of information and communication technology (ICT) products posted the highest monthly figure on record in May, driven by demand for semiconductors and other products related to the artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem, data showed Sunday.

Outbound ICT shipments reached US$47.79 billion last month, a surge of 128.9 percent from $20.88 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Science and ICT.

This marks the first time that monthly ICT exports have exceeded the $40 billion mark for three consecutive months, the ministry said.

Imports rose 36 percent on-year to $15.7 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $32.09 billion in the sector.

By product, semiconductor exports soared 169.2 percent on-year to $37.16 billion, supported by continued investments in AI servers as well as an increase in memory chip prices, the ministry said.

Shipments of computers and related equipment more than tripled from a year earlier to $4.33 billion, reflecting rising demand for solid-state drives (SSDs) used in AI data centers.

Smartphone exports also jumped a solid 15.9 percent on-year, while exports of display panels inched up 2.8 percent from a year earlier.

By destination, exports to the United States shot up more than 250 percent to $8.1 billion. Exports to China, including Hong Kong, more than doubled to $19.5 billion, while shipments to Vietnam rose 90.8 percent on-year to $6.8 billion.