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Chip exports drive record trade figures
South Korea’s semiconductor exports surpassed $60 billion in September for the first time, helping push the country’s overall monthly exports to a record and lifting shares of chipmaking equipment suppliers.
Semiconductor shipments reached $60.3 billion, up 262.8% from a year earlier, according to trade data released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The ministry attributed the increase to stronger memory-chip demand, higher export volumes and rising contract prices.
Total exports rose 83.5% from a year earlier to $120.94 billion, exceeding $120 billion in a single month for the first time and breaking a record set in June. Computer exports jumped 435.3% to $7 billion amid growing demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure and agentic AI systems, which are designed to perform tasks with greater autonomy.
Imports increased 26% to $71.09 billion, leaving South Korea with a trade surplus of $49.85 billion. Exports from January through September totaled $814.5 billion, crossing $800 billion for the first time, while the cumulative trade surplus reached $252.5 billion.
Equipment makers rise as major chip stocks slip
Shares of South Korean semiconductor equipment companies advanced following the trade report. Jusung Engineering gained 4.52%, while Wonik IPS, EO Technics and HPSP rose between 5% and 5.49%. The KRX Semiconductor Index was up 2.15% at 15,324.44 as of 11:10 a.m.
South Korea’s two largest chipmakers did not share in the rally. Samsung Electronics fell 0.37%, while SK Hynix declined 0.28%, after rising long-term Treasury yields and higher oil prices weighed on technology shares in the U.S. market overnight.
Kim Ju-yeon, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities, said equipment stocks were benefiting from expectations that chipmakers would increase investment in advanced manufacturing processes and production capacity, even as Samsung and SK Hynix traded lower.
Micron results reinforce AI demand
The gains among Korean equipment suppliers also followed record results from Micron Technology, the U.S. memory-chip maker and a major global competitor to Samsung and SK Hynix. Micron reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $54.23 billion, more than four times the $11.32 billion posted a year earlier and above market expectations of about $51.3 billion.
The results provided another signal of strong global demand for memory chips and AI-related computing infrastructure, industries that closely connect South Korean manufacturers with American technology companies and financial markets.
Trade risks remain
Trade Minister Kim Jung-kwan said the government expects annual exports could reach $1 trillion but warned that increasing global protectionism and tensions in the Middle East remain risks.
Kim said the ministry would keep high-level communication channels open with trade authorities in major economies and closely monitor export restrictions as it seeks to maintain momentum through the fourth quarter.
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