South Korea's exports posted the strongest growth in nearly 50 years as the global artificial-intelligence buildout keeps fueling demand for chips.
The June trade result comes on the heels of an announcement by the South Korean government and top memory-chip makers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to invest trillions of dollars to deepen the country's role in the semiconductor supply chain, and fend off competition from U.S. and Chinese rivals.
Exports surged 70.9% on the year in June, setting a monthly record of $102.25 billion and notching the fastest pace of expansion since October 1978. That built on a revised 53.4% increase in May, according to preliminary data released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources on Wednesday.
June's print easily beat the median forecast for 57.3% growth from a Wall Street Journal survey of nine economists.
Imports expanded 30.1% to $66.10 billion last month, resulting in a trade surplus of $36.15 billion and surpassing the $30 billion threshold for the first time. In May, the surplus stood at a revised $27.04 billion.
Semiconductors remained the main drivers of shipment growth, the trade ministry said, with chip exports reaching a new monthly record of $44.82 billion in June.
Amid no signs that the global AI infrastructure boom is slowing, South Korea's semiconductor exports tripled from a year earlier.
The momentum seems poised to continue. Samsung and SK Hynix together announced plans to invest more than 800 trillion won, equivalent to about $520 billion, in new chip-making hubs in southwest Korea as part of President Lee Jae Myung's multi-trillion-dollar push to boost investment in the semiconductor industry and AI infrastructure.
While AI-linked sectors keep powering ahead, others aren't doing so hot.
Wednesday's trade data showed further evidence of the so-called K-shaped growth in South Korea, in which non-tech industries continued to grapple with higher raw-material costs, supply constraints and logistical challenges stemming from tensions in the Middle East, even with U.S. and Iran having forged a fragile ceasefire.
Exports of computers more than quadrupled from a year earlier in June, while shipments of wireless communication devices, including smartphones, jumped 51%, ministry data showed.
Shipments of auto parts, however, fell 2.4% from a year earlier in June while vehicle exports rose just 5.8%, the data showed.
By destination, exports to the U.S. and China rose 79% and 92%, respectively, from a year earlier in June, while shipments to the Middle East fell 8.4%.
Despite the uneven distribution of economic gains across sectors,receding risks of an energy-driven inflation crisis are brightening the outlook for South Korea benefiting from unabated demand for AI-related products.
Several banks, including ING and Citi, have recently raised growth forecasts for Korea, citing tailwinds such as higher capital expenditure under the government-led AI investment plan.
While remaining the main engine of growth, exports will lay the foundations for stronger private consumption, government spending and investment, ING economists said.
"Asia seems to have largely brushed off the impact of the energy price shock," Capital Economics' Gareth Leather said in a note. "and most economies look set to record solid growth this year, helped by very strong demand for AI-related products, which is boosting exports."
Write to Kwanwoo Jun at kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 30, 2026 22:08 ET (02:08 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Comments