Seoul: South Korea’s exports increased by 43.7 percent during the first ten days of May 2026 compared to the same period last year, supported by strong global demand for semiconductors.
Data issued by the Korea Customs Service and reported by Yonhap News Agency showed that export value reached $18.4 billion during the period from 1 to 10 May, compared to $12.8 billion recorded during the corresponding period in 2025.
Imports also rose by 14.9 percent year-on-year to $16.7 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $1.7 billion.
Semiconductor exports surged by 149.8 percent to a record $8.54 billion, driven by rising memory chip prices and continued demand linked to artificial intelligence (AI) servers.
Semiconductors accounted for 46.3 percent of South Korea’s total exports during the period, marking an increase of 19.7 percentage points compared to the same period last year.
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