Korea's August exports reached $98.25bn as semiconductor shipments set another record
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Forty six point six five billion dollars.
That is what South Korea exported in semiconductors during August, the largest monthly total in the ministry's series and 209 percent more than a year earlier. Chips supplied 47 percent of the country's $98.25bn in total exports.
The full export total rose 68.7 percent. It was the third largest month on record, behind June and July of this year. Imports rose 22.5 percent to $63.51bn, leaving a $34.75bn trade surplus.
The comparison is not only about volume. The ministry's contract price series puts a 16 gigabit DDR5 memory chip at $35.00 in April, then $37.50, $40.00, $45.00 and $46.50 in August. The equivalent NAND series rose from $24.20 to $30.50 over the same five months.
The rest grew more slowly
Exports excluding semiconductors rose 20 percent. Computers reached $6.24bn, up 419.5 percent, while petroleum products rose 65.3 percent to $6.84bn and petrochemicals rose 12.2 percent to $3.86bn.
The last two lines carry an important qualification. Petroleum product export volume fell 2.2 percent and petrochemical volume fell 7.0 percent. Higher values therefore do not mean Korea shipped more of either product.
Cars moved the other way. Their exports fell 29.8 percent to $3.85bn, which the ministry attributed to the timing of summer holidays and production disruption from partial strikes. Ship exports fell 45.9 percent as deliveries declined.
China and the United States
Exports to China rose 119.3 percent to $24.10bn. Shipments to the United States rose 89.3 percent to $16.50bn, and exports to Southeast Asia reached an August record of $19.09bn. Seven of the nine main destination groups increased.
The surplus for January through August now stands at $202.5bn. That is $162.2bn more than in the same period of 2025.
The release is provisional. It uses Korea Customs Service clearance data through August 31, and the ministry says the totals and product figures can be corrected until annual statistics are confirmed in February 2027.
