Seoul, Dec 7 (LatestNewsX) – South Korea’s trade ministry has issued data showing that the country is expected to push its 2025 export total past a record‑breaking $700 billion, although the figure for all shipments except semiconductors is likely to decline year‑on‑year.
From January through November, total exports reached $640.2 billion, a 2.9 % rise from the same period in 2022 and the highest level yet for a single nine‑month stretch, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources. Yonhap news agency reported that the previous peak for that period was $628.7 billion in 2022.
Overall, the government foresees that 2025 will see the first ever exceedance of the $700 billion mark.
However, when the booming chip industry is removed from the equation, the picture looks different. Excluding semiconductors – which are riding an “industrywide super cycle” – exports are projected to slip as global trade uncertainty and sluggish demand in steel, petrochemicals and secondary batteries weigh on the economy. The non‑chip sector is expected to shrink 1.5 % year‑on‑year to $487.6 billion.
Certain categories remain resilient: automobiles, ships, bio‑health products and computers rose by 2 %, 28.6 %, 7 % and 0.4 % respectively, while all other sectors slipped. Machinery exports fell 8.9 %, petroleum products declined 11.1 %, petrochemical goods dropped 11.7 %, and steel shipments dropped 8.8 %. Auto parts, displays, home appliances and secondary batteries all slipped by 6.3 %, 10.3 %, 9.4 % and 11.8 % respectively.
In November, semiconductors accounted for 28.3 % of total Korean exports, a new high for the year and a stark reminder of the country’s heavy reliance on chips. In contrast, during 2002‑2010, the chip sector represented roughly 10 % of all exports.
“It’s true that our trade structure leans heavily on semiconductors, yet the fact that non‑chip exports fell only 1.5 % signals a surprisingly resilient outcome,” said Kang Kam‑chan, deputy trade and investment minister. Kang added that strong demand for chips is likely to persist into next year, driven by continued growth in artificial intelligence (AI) and data‑centre markets. —LatestNewsX
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