SK Group is projected to surpass KRW 120 trillion in total group exports for the first time this year, driven by strong semiconductor exports from SK Hynix. This is due to the surge in demand for memory semiconductors such as High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) amid the competition to build artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure among global big tech companies.

On the 25th, SK Group announced that the group's export performance for January to September this year was KRW 87.8 trillion, an increase of approximately 20% compared to KRW 73.7 trillion in the same period last year. If this trend continues through the fourth quarter (October to December), SK Group anticipates that the annual export amount will exceed last year's KRW 102.5 trillion, reaching the KRW 120 trillion range. If realized, this would mark the highest export performance in the group's history.

The main driver of SK Group's export growth is SK Hynix. Last year, SK Hynix's export amount was KRW 55.2 trillion, accounting for 54% of the group's total exports. This year, from January to September, that proportion increased to 65% (KRW 56.7 trillion). This represents an increase of more than 10 percentage points in export share within a year.

The export of high-value memory semiconductors such as HBM by SK Group is also directly impacting the nation's overall exports. In the third quarter (July to September) of this year, South Korea's total export amount was USD 185 billion (approximately KRW 272.4495 trillion), the highest since related statistics began in 2010. Among this, the export amount of high-value memory semiconductors, including HBM, reached USD 46.6 billion (KRW 68.6278 trillion).

This improvement in performance is also leading to increased tax revenue. The corporate tax paid by SK Hynix up to the third quarter of this year was KRW 4.3444 trillion, which is about 45 times the KRW 940 billion paid in the same period last year. The increase in SK Hynix's operating profit has led to a rise in corporate tax payments. Additionally, SK Hynix's stock price has shown a strong upward trend, establishing it as the second-largest company by market capitalization on the stock exchange. As of the closing price on the 25th, SK Hynix's market capitalization was KRW 377 trillion.

SK Group stated, "The increased contribution of SK Group to the national economy in terms of exports, tax payments, and market capitalization is the result of structural improvement efforts consistently pursued by SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won in business structure, financial structure, and governance structure." The group has identified future growth businesses, restructured marginal businesses, and turned around the performance of deficit companies.

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