South Korea’s Exports Reach $765 Billion as Chip Shipments Accelerate

South Korea’s exports reached nearly $765 billion in the first 263 days of 2026, extending a record-breaking run powered by semiconductors and strengthening the possibility that annual shipments will exceed $1 trillion for the first time.

Cumulative exports from January 1 through September 20 totaled $764.997 billion, up 55 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to Korea Customs Service data reported Saturday. Imports grew at a slower pace, helping the country build a trade surplus of $225.59 billion over the period.

Shipments during the first 20 days of September were valued at $71.4 billion, a 78.3 percent increase from a year earlier and the highest total recorded for that part of the month. Because the period contained 15.5 working days, one fewer than a year earlier, average daily exports rose even faster, by 89.8 percent.

Semiconductors remained the main engine of growth. Chip exports from September 1 to 20 reached a record $34.128 billion, an increase of 259.4 percent year on year. Semiconductors accounted for 47.8 percent of all exports during the period, reflecting sustained demand linked to investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure by major data center operators.

The gains were not confined to chips. Exports of petroleum products increased 47.8 percent, passenger cars 9.3 percent, steel products 8 percent and ships 63 percent. Shipments also rose across all 10 major destinations tracked in the report. Exports to the United States more than doubled, increasing 118 percent, while shipments to China rose 113.8 percent. Taiwan recorded a 128.5 percent increase, and exports to Vietnam, the European Union and Japan also advanced.

The latest figures build on 15 consecutive months of export growth through August. Semiconductor exports have exceeded $40 billion for three straight full months, reaching $46.65 billion in August alone. South Korea’s total monthly exports surpassed $100 billion in June and remained above $90 billion in July and August.

The finalized January-to-August export total was $693.6 billion. That leaves $306.4 billion needed from September through December to cross the $1 trillion threshold on a finalized full-year basis. Maintaining the recent pace of more than $90 billion a month would put the total above $1.05 trillion.

Reaching $1 trillion would place South Korea alongside the United States, China and Germany as the only countries to have exceeded that level in annual exports. The momentum also highlights the economy’s growing dependence on semiconductors, which represented nearly half of shipments in early September, leaving headline trade performance closely tied to the global chip cycle.