Home > Business > Economy

Monthly ICT exports soar 78 percent on year due to global AI infrastructure demand

Published: 12 Feb. 2026, 13:33

Containers are stacked at a port in the southeastern city of Busan in this file photo taken on Jan. 28. [YONHAP]

Korea's exports of information and communication technology (ICT) products jumped 78 percent in January from a year earlier, backed by global demand for AI infrastructure projects, data showed Thursday.

Outbound shipments of ICT products reached $29 billion, compared to $16.2 billion tallied a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Science and ICT. It marks the highest export volume for any January on record.

Imports moved up 20 percent to $14 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $14.9 billion.

The ministry attributed the sharp growth to the rapidly expanding global AI industry, which led to stronger demand for high-performance ICT products.

"[ICT products] accounted for 44.1 percent of Korea's total monthly exports of $65.8 billion, indicating the sector serves as a key engine for the country's economic growth,” it added.

Exports of semiconductor products more than doubled on year in January to $20.5 billion, buoyed by higher global memory prices and steady demand for premium products such as high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips.

Outbound shipments of displays gained 19 percent over the period to $1.5 billion, led by organic light-emitting diode (OLED) products, the data showed.

Exports of smartphones shot up 75.1 percent to $1.76 billion on the back of premium products.

By destination, exports to China, including Hong Kong, nearly doubled to $11.7 billion, led by chips, handsets and computers.

Exports to the United States gained 110 percent to $4.62 billion, with semiconductor exports nearly tripling to $2.37 billion.

Yonhap