South Korea's Chip Exports Surge 43.9% in 2024, Setting Record High

South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy announced on Wednesday (January 1) that the country's exports in 2024 grew by 8.2% year-over-year, reaching $683.8 billion—a new all-time high, surpassing the previous record of $683.6 billion set in 2022.

By sector, South Korea's semiconductor exports in 2024 surged by 43.9% year-over-year to $141.9 billion, also marking a historic peak. This surpassed the previous record of $129.2 billion set in 2022. Despite a general decline in global semiconductor prices, robust demand for high-end products, including High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) chips, drove the strong performance in overall exports.

In terms of export destinations, shipments to South Korea's largest trading partner, China, rose by 6.6% to $133 billion, fueled by increased exports of semiconductors, petrochemical products, and mobile devices. Exports to the United States grew by 10.5% to $127.8 billion, marking the seventh consecutive year of record annual highs.

Additionally, in December 2024, South Korea's exports grew by 6.6% year-over-year to $61.38 billion, extending their year-over-year growth streak to 15 months. Semiconductor exports in December soared by 41.5% to $14.5 billion, setting a new monthly record. By destination, exports to China in December increased by 8.6% year-over-year to $11.8 billion, while shipments to the United States grew by 5.5% to $11.9 billion.