South Korea’s exports in June, which surpassed $100 billion for the first time on a monthly basis, have joined the ranks of the world's fourth countries to achieve $100 billion in monthly exports, following Germany, China, and the United States. Strong export performance, centered on semiconductors, also led to another new record of the trade balance surpassing $30 billion.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced the 'June 2026 Import and Export Trends' on the 1st, stating that exports in June recorded $102.25 billion, an increase of 70.9% compared to the same period last year.

Imports increased by 30.1% to $66.1 billion, and the trade balance surpassed $30 billion for the first time with a surplus of $36.15 billion, an increase of $27.14 billion from the previous month.

Average daily exports, taking into account working days, were $4.54 billion, marking a new all-time high for the second consecutive month.

By item, 18 of the top 20 major export items increased.

The semiconductor market recorded $44.82 billion, up 199.5% driven by rising fixed prices for memory, surpassing $40 billion for the first time.

Computers reached $5.41 billion, surging 308.8% due to increased demand for SSDs driven by expanded investment in AI infrastructure by big tech companies.

Wireless communication devices increased by 51.9% to $1.55 billion, driven by strong sales of new products.

Automobiles recorded $6.71 billion, an increase of 5.8% driven by factors such as the stabilization of parts supply, but automotive parts decreased by 2.4% due to the expansion of localization.

Ship exports increased by 12.9% due to the expansion of high-value-added vessels such as LNG carriers, and petroleum products (49.8%), non-ferrous metals (45.8%), and cosmetics (42.5%) also showed high growth rates.

By region, seven out of the nine major export regions showed an upward trend.

Exports to China rose 92.1% to $20.03 billion, maintaining positive growth for eight consecutive months, while exports to the United States increased 78.6% to $20.02 billion.recorded.

Exports to ASEAN increased by 86.6% to $18.3 billion, marking a new all-time monthly high for the fifth consecutive month.

On the other hand, exports to the Middle East continued their downward trend, falling by 8.4%.

On a cumulative basis for the first half of the year, exports totaled $496.7 billion, up 48.4% from the same period last year, and the trade balance recorded a surplus of $138.3 billion.

Semiconductor exports in the first half of the year amounted to $192.4 billion, already exceeding the previous year's annual performance ($173.4 billion).

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jeong-kwan stated, “Despite difficult conditions such as U.S. tariff measures and logistics and energy instability caused by the Middle East war, we achieved record-breaking performance in the first half of the year thanks to strong semiconductor performance and balanced success in key and promising consumer goods.” He added, “As uncertainty is expected to continue in the second half, we will provide support to help the country leap forward as one of the top five exporting nations through qualitative growth, including diversifying product lines and markets and strengthening the export competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises.”