[News] South Korea’s May Exports Slide Amid U.S. Tariff Pressures—Chip Sales Defy Trend with Record Surge

According to ZDNet, South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced that semiconductor exports—the nation’s top export item—hit a record high in May, totaling USD 13.8 billion. This marks a 21.2% increase compared to the same month last year. The surge was largely fueled by robust demand for high-value memory products such as HBM and DDR5, along with an uptick in contract prices, as highlighted in the report.

Nonetheless, Chosun Daily notes that overall exports turned negative, underscoring deeper structural challenges. These include weakening demand in key industries such as electric vehicles (EVs) and mounting tariff pressure from the U.S.

Among the categories posting gains, exports of wireless communication devices climbed 3.9% year-on-year to USD 1.3 billion. The increase was largely driven by a 30.0% surge in smartphone shipments, which reached USD 420 million, according to ZDNet.

In addition, exports of computers and SSDs returned to positive territory, rising 2.3% from a year earlier to USD 1.1 billion, ZDNet adds.

South Korea’s Chip Exports to China Drop 14.6% Year-on-Year

By region, exports to China fell 8.4% to USD 10.4 billion, as noted by ZDNet. As Chosun Daily highlights, semiconductor exports—traditionally South Korea’s top shipment to China—declined 14.6% year-on-year.

Citing Ahn Ki-hyun, executive director of the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association, Chosun Daily notes that China is accelerating domestic production of low- to mid-range chips—a shift that could further erode South Korea’s semiconductor exports to the Chinese market.

Exports to the U.S. declined 8.1% to USD 10.0 billion. According to ZDNet, gains in wireless communication devices, petroleum products, and secondary batteries were not enough to offset a steep drop in automobile exports, resulting in an overall decline for the second consecutive month.

Notably, Taiwan—one of South Korea’s key semiconductor export destinations—stood out in May, with exports surging 49.6% year-on-year to USD 3.8 billion, the highest figure ever recorded for that month, according to ZDNet. The sharp increase may reflect a substantial rise in shipments to Taiwan as an intermediate manufacturing hub, Chosun Daily notes.

Meanwhile, exports to ASEAN declined by 1.3% to USD 10.0 billion, as sharp drops in petroleum products and petrochemicals outweighed the double-digit growth in semiconductor shipments, as the report indicates.

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