South Korea’s exports to China surge 134%, including a 331% jump in semiconductors, as AI boom drives growth

[Financial News] Driven by a boom in AI semiconductors, South Korea’s exports to China surged 133.6% year on year last month. Increased investment in AI infrastructure by major global technology companies and the resulting strong demand for memory semiconductors lifted export performance.
China’s state-run Global Times reported on the 2nd that South Korea’s exports to China totaled $26.98 billion (about 36 trillion won) last month, up 133.6% from the same period a year earlier. Monthly exports to China have exceeded $20 billion for five consecutive months.
According to South Korean government statistics, semiconductors and wireless communications equipment led the export growth. In particular, South Korea’s semiconductor exports to China from October 1 to 25 surged 331% year on year to $14.8 billion.
During the same period, South Korea’s total exports also surged 93.7% year on year to $115.3 billion, marking the second-highest monthly export performance on record.
Semiconductor exports alone surged 259% year on year to $56.4 billion, accounting for about half of total export shipments. By product, automobile exports rose 18.1% and cosmetics exports increased 57.5%.
Experts cited increased global investment in AI infrastructure and rising demand for memory chips as the reasons for South Korea’s export surge. In particular, they said, “China’s expanding AI infrastructure and digital economy are generating considerable demand for semiconductors,” and concluded that “the long-established industrial division of labor between Chinese and South Korean manufacturers has facilitated the cross-border movement of intermediate goods and components.”
However, experts pointed to a limitation of the current growth trend: it is not evenly distributed across industries and is overly concentrated in AI-related chips. They said this leaves South Korea’s export performance exposed to the structural risk of becoming excessively dependent on capital spending trends among major global technology companies.
Meanwhile, according to the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in China, cumulative trade between South Korea and China totaled $263.1 billion from January through August this year. South Korea’s exports to China during this period amounted to $145.4 billion, with integrated circuits and semiconductor-related parts making up the key export items.


[email protected] Lee Seok-woo, International Affairs Specialist Reporter