South Korea Achieves Record 8.2% Growth in Exports for 2024
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Seoul, Jan 1 (NationPress) South Korea's exports have risen by 8.2 percent year-on-year in 2024, achieving a new annual record thanks to robust semiconductor shipments, according to data released on Wednesday.
The total value of outbound shipments reached $683.8 billion last year, surpassing the previous record of $683.6 billion established in 2022, based on statistics from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
In contrast, imports decreased by 1.6 percent to $632 billion, leading to a trade surplus of $51.8 billion, as reported by the Yonhap news agency.
Analyzing the sectors, semiconductor exports soared by 43.9 percent year-on-year, totaling $141.9 billion, outpacing the previous record of $129.2 billion set in 2022.
This impressive performance in chips was fueled by strong demand for premium products, such as high-bandwidth memory chips, despite a general decline in global semiconductor prices.
Meanwhile, automobile exports dipped by 0.1 percent to $70.8 billion due to production interruptions caused by strikes among auto parts manufacturers in the latter half of the year, according to the ministry.
Other notable sectors included the biohealth industry, which saw exports rise by 13.1 percent year-on-year to $15.1 billion, driven by strong sales of biosimilar products.
Regionally, exports to China, the leading trading partner, increased by 6.6 percent to $133 billion, driven by demand for chips, petrochemical products, and mobile devices.
Shipments to the United States grew by 10.5 percent to $127.8 billion, marking a new annual high for the seventh straight year.
Additionally, exports to Southeast Asia rose by 4.5 percent to $114 billion, bolstered by chips and petroleum products, according to the data.
In December alone, exports increased by 6.6 percent from the previous year to $61.38 billion, achieving the 15th consecutive month of year-on-year growth.
Imports for December also rose by 3.3 percent to $54.8 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $6.49 billion. South Korea has maintained a trade surplus for 19 consecutive months.
In December, semiconductor exports skyrocketed by 41.5 percent to $14.5 billion, setting a new monthly record.
Automobile exports fell by 5.3 percent to $6 billion, while petrochemical exports increased by 1.8 percent to $3.9 billion.
Regionally, December exports to China grew by 8.6 percent year-on-year to $11.8 billion, with exports to the U.S. rising by 5.5 percent to $11.9 billion.
"Despite high global interest rates, inflation, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the Middle East crisis, South Korea accomplished record exports and a trade surplus due to the steadfast efforts of exporters," stated Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun.
"With a new U.S. administration taking office next month, the government will collaborate closely with the private sector to mitigate potential negative impacts from overseas uncertainties," Ahn added.
