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The Korea Customs Service reported that outbound shipments reached $61.6 billion during the Oct. 1-20 period this year, more than doubling from the same period a year earlier in the highest figure ever recorded for the first 20 days of October. The daily average export value adjusted for business days stood at $4.74 billion, also a record for any such period. Imports increased 42.8 percent on year to $47.1 billion, producing a trade surplus of $14.5 billion.
Semiconductor exports vaulted 222.5 percent to $27.5 billion according to the Korea Customs Service and accounted for 44.7 percent of total exports, a rise of 16.2 percentage points from the year before. Petroleum product shipments rose 68.3 percent to $3.94 billion while automobile exports climbed 40.9 percent to $3.35 billion. Steel products gained 42.6 percent to $2.58 billion in the period.
Exports to China soared 154.4 percent to $16.6 billion and shipments to the United States surged 154.9 percent to $10.7 billion, the customs service data showed. These two destinations led gains across major markets with additional increases registered to Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam. The customs service figures placed combined exports to China, the United States and Vietnam at 52.7 percent of the total.
Yonhap News Agency reported that the early October performance follows a record month in September when exports jumped 83.7 percent to $121.1 billion, the largest monthly increase since February 1974. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy placed semiconductor shipments for September above $60 billion for the first time. Cumulative exports for January through September reached $814.7 billion, already exceeding the entire 2025 annual total.
A Reuters assessment found that global artificial intelligence investment has sustained the semiconductor upcycle, driving chip exports higher for 19 straight months. The Korea Customs Service noted that semiconductors now represent nearly half of all outbound shipments in the latest period. September’s trade surplus hit a record $50 billion, extending a streak of monthly surpluses to 20 months.
