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Korea's exports up 7.6 percent in first 20 days of August on strong chip, auto demand

Published: 21 Aug. 2025, 12:35 Updated: 21 Aug. 2025, 19:21

Trade containers are stacked at Pyeongtaek Port in Gyeonggi on Aug. 18. [YONHAP]

Korea's exports expanded 7.6 percent from a year earlier in the first 20 days of this month on solid demand for semiconductors and automobiles, data showed Thursday.

Outbound shipments reached $35.5 billion in the Aug. 1-20 period, compared with $33 billion tallied over the same period last year, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.

The daily average volume of exports also increased 7.6 percent on-year over the cited period. The number of working days during this period stood at 14.5, unchanged from last year.

Imports inched up 0.4 percent on-year to $34.7 billion during the period, resulting in a trade surplus of $800 million.

By item, exports of semiconductors surged 29.5 percent from a year earlier to $8.71 billion. Chip exports accounted for 24.5 percent of the country's total exports over the cited period, up 4.2 percentage points from the same period last year.

Automobile exports gained 21.7 percent on-year to $2.77 billion, while shipments of vessels jumped 28.9 percent to $2.3 billion.

By destination, exports to the United States went down 2.7 percent to $5.03 billion amid tariff measures by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration.

However, exports to China, Korea's top trading partner, increased 2.7 percent to $6.99 billion.

In July, exports rose 5.9 percent from a year earlier to $60.8 billion on the back of robust global demand for semiconductors, despite the U.S. tariff scheme.

Yonhap