South Korea's ICT Exports Hit Second-Highest Level in September

Sejong, South Korea—The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy reported on Monday that South Korea's information and communications technology (ICT) exports reached $22.36 billion in September, marking the second-highest monthly figure since March 2022.

ICT exports rose 24.0% year-on-year, continuing an 11-month streak of growth. 

The trade surplus in the ICT sector stood at $9.88 billion, with imports at $12.48 billion.

Semiconductor exports, a key growth driver, surged 36.3% to a record $13.63 billion. 

Memory chip exports jumped 60.7% to $8.72 billion, while system chip exports increased 5.2% to $4.37 billion.

Mobile phone exports grew 25.1% to $1.71 billion, maintaining double-digit growth since March 2024.

Computer and peripherals exports more than doubled to $1.64 billion, with solid-state drive (SSD) exports soaring 168.8% to $1.24 billion.

Exports to China, including Hong Kong, rose 22.6% to $9.18 billion, while shipments to the United States surged 39.9% to $3.04 billion.

The ministry attributed the solid performance to growing demand for AI servers and recovery in the IT device market.

It noted that memory chip exports have been mainly boosted by increased investments in AI servers and rising demand for high-bandwidth memory.

Looking ahead, the government expects the growth trend to continue, driven by the expansion of the AI market and ongoing recovery in IT device demand.