[Anchor]
South Korea’s exports have continued to increase for the eighth consecutive month. Semiconductors and automobiles drove the export growth, and exports to China also achieved a record high in nineteen months. Reporter Hwang Jung-ho reports.
[Report]
Last month, South Korea’s exports exceeded 80 trillion won, totaling 58.15 billion dollars. This marks an 11.7% increase from May last year, continuing the eighth consecutive month of growth. Key export items such as the so-called ‘IT 4 brothers’ and automobiles led the growth. Semiconductors recorded 11.38 billion dollars, surpassing 11 billion dollars, thanks to the rise in memory semiconductor prices. Riding on the semiconductor boom, IT products like displays and computers also continued to grow.
[Jo Ik-no/Trade Policy Officer at the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Resources: “The IT industry is improving, and memory semiconductor prices have risen by over 50% now. Both price and quantity have increased, leading to a surge of over 50% in semiconductor exports.”]
Automobile exports also achieved a record high of 6.49 billion dollars in May, but exports of secondary batteries and steel declined due to slowing demand for electric cars. Exports to China reached nearly 11.4 billion dollars, achieving the highest performance in nineteen months and reclaiming its position as the largest export destination. Exports to the U.S. also continued to increase for the tenth consecutive month, totaling 10.93 billion dollars.
[Sang-hyun Jo/Director of International Trade Research Institute at the Korea Trade Association: “There are quite a few positive indicators. To continue the trend of export growth, we need to re-examine the trade structure with China and our industry’s competitiveness.”]
With imports decreasing and export growth continuing, South Korea achieved a trade surplus for the second consecutive year. This is KBS News, reporting by Hwang Jung-ho.
Video Editing: Park Kyung-sang / Graphic: Park Mi-joo
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