South Korea exports hit record $87.75B in May on AI chip boom

June 1 (Asia Today) -- South Korea's exports reached a monthly record in May, topping $80 billion for a third straight month as strong semiconductor shipments fueled by artificial intelligence investment drove overall trade growth.

Exports rose 53.2% from a year earlier to $87.75 billion in May, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Monday. Imports increased 20.8% to $60.8 billion, producing a record trade surplus of $26.95 billion.

May marked the third consecutive month in which exports exceeded $80 billion, following $87.2 billion in March and $85.9 billion in April. Average daily exports also reached $4.28 billion, surpassing $4 billion for the first time.

Semiconductors led the increase, with chip exports jumping 169.4% from a year earlier to a record $37.16 billion. The ministry said expanding AI investment by major U.S. technology companies helped sustain higher memory chip prices.

DRAM exports rose 369.8% and NAND flash exports increased 206.8%. Computer exports also surged 290.7% to $4.18 billion on rising demand for solid-state drives used in AI servers.

Other technology sectors also posted gains, with display exports rising 9.4% and wireless communications device exports up 12.6%.

Automobile exports fell 5.9% to $5.83 billion, affected by fewer working days, parts supply disruptions, logistics burdens linked to the Middle East war and expanded local production in response to U.S. tariffs. Ship exports rose 16.7% to $2.61 billion, supported by deliveries of liquefied natural gas carriers.

Petroleum product exports increased 46.6% to $5.25 billion due to high oil prices, while petrochemical exports rose 11.1%. Nonferrous metal exports climbed 41.5%, helped by higher copper and aluminum demand from expanding AI data centers.

By region, exports to China rose 80.9% to $18.9 billion, marking a seventh straight month of growth. Exports to the United States increased 59.1% to $15.97 billion, while exports to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations reached a record $15.85 billion.

South Korea's cumulative trade surplus for January through May reached $101.91 billion, already surpassing the previous annual record of $95.2 billion set in 2017.

Trade Minister Kim Jung-kwan said uncertainty remains over the possible end of the Middle East war, U.S. tariffs and the European Union's steel tariff-rate quotas.

"The government will work to ease trade risks for Korean companies through close consultations with major countries, create a stable export environment and actively support corporate production and exports by securing stable supplies of key imported raw materials such as crude oil and naphtha," Kim said.

-- Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260601010000109

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