South Korea's exports jumped 53 percent from a year earlier to a record $87.8 billion in May, driven by the semiconductor supercycle.
According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, outbound shipments reached $87.8 billion, up 53 percent on-year. This marked the third straight month exports exceeded $80 billion.
Semiconductor exports surged 169.4 percent to an all-time high of $37.2 billion. Shipments of D-RAMs rose 369.8 percent to $18.6 billion, while NAND flash memory exports climbed 206.8 percent to $1.7 billion.
Imports increased 20.8 percent to $60.8 billion, producing a trade surplus of $26.95 billion. Exports to China grew 80.9 percent to $18.9 billion, and those to the United States rose 59.1 percent to $15.97 billion.