Last month, South Korea's exports in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector reached the highest level for any October on record. Despite a reduction in working days due to the Chuseok holiday, the semiconductor market boom driven by the global artificial intelligence (AI) trend led to an increase in exports.

According to the 'October ICT Export and Import Trends' released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on the 13th, last month's ICT export value was USD 23.33 billion, a 12.2% increase compared to the same month last year (USD 20.8 billion). Although the longest Chuseok holiday spanned up to seven days, reducing the number of working days (20 days) by two compared to the previous year, it recorded the highest performance for October.

This trend was driven by the increase in semiconductor exports. Last month's semiconductor export value was USD 15.74 billion, up 25.4% from a year ago, marking an eighth consecutive month of double-digit growth. This is attributed to the rise in DRAM and NAND prices and the expansion of high-value memory demand for AI servers.

Exports of communication equipment also increased by 2.5% to USD 180 million. This was due to increased demand for wireless communication device parts in Vietnam and base station equipment in India. In contrast, exports of displays (―8.8%), mobile phones (―11.8%), and computers and peripherals (―1.0%) declined.

Last month's ICT imports amounted to USD 12.96 billion, a decrease of 2.9%. The trade balance recorded a surplus of USD 10.37 billion.

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