Korea's monthly exports top $80b for first time on chip boom
2026.04.01 15:18
China, US demand lifts exports despite Middle East risks; Kospi, won rebound
| Shipping containers are stacked and automobiles parked at a port in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. (Yonhap) |
South Korea’s monthly exports topped $80 billion for the first time in March, despite headwinds from the Iran war, as a semiconductor boom powered a broad-based rise in outbound shipments, government data showed Wednesday.
Exports rose 48 percent from a year earlier to $86.13 billion, according to the Trade Ministry. That was the highest monthly total on record, surpassing the previous peak of $69.5 billion set in December.
The result extended Korea’s on-year export growth streak to a 10th straight month. Adjusted for working days, average daily exports also climbed 42 percent to $3.74 billion.
Ten of Korea’s 15 major export categories posted gains in March, with semiconductors leading the charge.
Chip exports more than doubled from a year earlier to $32.84 billion, up 151 percent, topping the $30 billion mark for the first time on record. Strong demand for both AI-related and conventional servers, along with soaring memory prices, pushed shipments past the previous monthly high of $25.1 billion set just a month earlier.
Automobile exports, Korea’s second-largest export category, rose 2.2 percent to $6.37 billion. Higher shipments of electric and hybrid vehicles helped keep the category in positive territory, despite logistics disruptions from the Middle East conflict.
Petroleum product exports jumped 55 percent in value terms to $5.1 billion as oil prices surged following the outbreak of war in the Middle East and supply disruptions linked to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
By volume, however, petroleum shipments fell after emergency market-stabilization measures took effect on March 13, with exports of gasoline, diesel and kerosene down about 5 percent, 11 percent and 12 percent, respectively, from a year earlier over the same period.
Other categories also posted solid gains, including ships, up 11 percent, and computers, up 189 percent. Outside the 15 major export items, electrical equipment, cosmetics and agricultural and fisheries products each posted record March exports.
Exports to China jumped 65 percent from a year earlier to $16.5 billion, driven by gains in semiconductors and petrochemicals and extending growth to a fifth straight month. Exports to the US rose about 47 percent to $16.34 billion, supported by strong demand for semiconductors and computers.
More broadly, exports increased in seven of Korea’s nine major overseas markets. Shipments to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations rose 34 percent, while those to the European Union gained 19 percent. Exports to the Middle East, by contrast, nearly halved to $900 million amid rising geopolitical tensions.
Imports rose 13 percent in March to $60.4 billion. Energy imports fell 7 percent to $9.37 billion, while non-energy imports rose 18 percent to $51.02 billion.
Korea posted a trade surplus of $25.74 billion in March, extending its surplus streak to 14 consecutive months.
Highlighting Korea’s first-ever $80 billion monthly export tally despite severe external conditions, Trade Minister Kim Jung-kwan said the authorities would “activate a pangovernment response system and move swiftly to implement stabilization measures” as the prolonged war in the Middle East adds to uncertainty over export conditions.
The Kospi climbed as much as 9 percent intraday to above 5,512.3 in afternoon trade before closing at 5,478.7. Institutional investors drove the rally as the market’s sole net buyers, snapping up 4 trillion won ($2.7 billion) worth of shares. Retail investors took profits, with net sales of 3.7 trillion won, while foreign investors were modest net sellers at 630 billion won.
The tech-heavy Kosdaq also triggered a sidecar in the afternoon and closed 6 percent higher at 1,116.18.
The won strengthened after opening 21.6 won firmer at 1,508.5 per dollar and ended daytime trading at 1,500 against the greenback.
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