South Korea's exports expanded 23.5 percent year-on-year in the first 20 days of February, driven by strong semiconductor demand. Outbound shipments reached $43.5 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $4.9 billion. The growth reflects a boom in chip exports fueled by artificial intelligence demand.
Data from the Korea Customs Service show that South Korea's exports reached $43.5 billion in the February 1-20 period of 2026, up 23.5 percent from $35.2 billion a year earlier. This marks the highest level for the period, as semiconductor exports more than doubled amid a boom driven by growing artificial intelligence demand.
Imports rose 11.7 percent on-year to $38.6 billion, yielding a trade surplus of $4.9 billion. The daily average export volume surged 47.3 percent, even though the number of working days fell by 2.5 to 13 days from the previous year.
By item, semiconductor exports jumped 134.1 percent to $15.1 billion, accounting for 34.7 percent of total exports—up 16.4 percentage points from a year ago. Petroleum product exports increased 10.5 percent to $2.9 billion, while vessel shipments soared 22.7 percent to $1.3 billion. Automobile exports, however, declined 26.6 percent to $2.6 billion.
By destination, exports to China, South Korea's top trading partner, rose 30.8 percent to $8.7 billion. Shipments to the United States climbed 21.9 percent to $8 billion, despite tariff measures by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration.
In January, exports grew 33.9 percent year-on-year to $65.85 billion, also bolstered by strong semiconductor demand.
