Thanks to the continued recovery of global technology demand, South Korea's ICT product exports in May once again achieved good results, with the growth rate exceeding 30% for two consecutive months.

According to data released by the Ministry of Science, Technology and ICT of South Korea on Sunday (16), thanks to the growth of the artificial intelligence (AI) market and the recovery of the information technology (IT) equipment market, South Korea's information and communication technology (ICT) product exports reached US$19.05 billion in May 2024, a 31.8% increase from US$14.45 billion in the same period of 2023, continuing the good performance of a 33.8% increase in the previous month, and has maintained positive growth for seven consecutive months.

In terms of import performance, ICT product imports in May increased by 2.4% year-on-year to US$11.48 billion, with a trade surplus of US$7.57 billion.

In terms of product categories, semiconductor exports in May climbed to US$11.39 billion, an annual increase of 52.4%, and recorded double-digit growth for seven consecutive months. Among them, memory exports surged 101% to US$6.86 billion, reflecting that AI has driven the rise of HBM high-bandwidth memory, driving up DRAM prices, and the average price of mainstream 8GB modules rose to US$2.1 in May.

As for other major ICT products, due to the strong demand for TV and personal computer (PC) panels, the export value of monitors in May rose by 15.3% to US$1.85 billion, with double-digit growth for four consecutive months; the export value of computers and peripheral devices increased significantly by 42.5% to US$1.18 billion.

Mobile phone exports also grew by 10.8% to US$1.02 billion in May; the export value of communication equipment decreased by 10.7% to US$180 million.

By export destination, during May, South Korea's ICT product exports to its largest trading partner China increased by 35.3% to US$8.13 billion, maintaining growth for seven consecutive months, mainly driven by strong demand for chips and displays; ICT exports to Vietnam and the United States increased by 30.6% and 20.7% year-on-year, reaching US$3.07 billion and US$2.14 billion, respectively.

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