ICT Exports Surge 12.4% in a Month to Record High Near USD 60 Billion
IT DAILY ·
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The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced the "August 2026 ICT Import and Export Trends" on the 14th.
South Korea's ICT exports in August totaled USD 59.98 billion, up 162.6% from a year earlier and close to USD 60 billion, setting a monthly record.
ICT's share of total exports in August was 61.0%, topping 60% for the first time, and the ICT trade balance posted a surplus of USD 41.37 billion.
The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced the "August 2026 ICT Import and Export Trends" on the 14th. According to the announcement, South Korea's ICT exports in August totaled USD 59.98 billion, or about KRW 80.7 trillion. That marked a 162.6% increase from the same month a year earlier and brought monthly ICT exports in August close to USD 60 billion, setting a new all-time high. ICT also accounted for more than 60% of total exports in August for the first time.
ICT exports topped USD 50 billion for three straight months starting in June. ICT exports in June reached USD 57.29 billion, then the record high at the time, but fell to USD 53.36 billion in July. ICT exports in August then rebounded, rising 12.4% from July and surpassing the previous record. As a result, month-over-month export growth also reaccelerated.
The increase in ICT exports was driven by rising demand for memory semiconductors and enterprise SSDs, backed by expanded AI infrastructure investment. The growth in demand was cited as a key factor behind the August expansion in ICT exports. The article's headline is that ICT exports jumped 12.4% in a month, neared USD 60 billion, and set a record high.
According to the August 2026 ICT export infographic, semiconductor exports rose 13.8% over the same period, from USD 41.02 billion to USD 46.67 billion. Semiconductor exports increased on continued demand for memory used in AI servers and further rises in DRAM and NAND prices.
Against that backdrop, total exports for the month came to USD 98.25 billion, equivalent to about KRW 132.1 trillion. ICT's share of total exports rose 7 percentage points in a single month, from 54.0% in July to 61.0% in August, surpassing 60% for the first time. That also exceeded the previous high of 56.2% set in June.
The ICT trade balance posted a surplus of USD 41.37 billion, equivalent to about KRW 55.6 trillion. The ICT trade surplus topped USD 40 billion for the first time.
The overall industrial trade surplus was USD 34.75 billion. ICT's surplus was USD 6.62 billion larger than the overall industrial surplus, and as a result, the combined trade balance of all other industries excluding ICT was in deficit. The source of the data was the Ministry of Science and ICT.
Semiconductor exports in August totaled USD 46.67 billion, or about KRW 62.8 trillion, up 209% from the same month a year earlier. That was an all-time monthly high, and semiconductor exports doubled or more year over year for eight consecutive months. Semiconductors accounted for 77.8% of total ICT exports.
Memory semiconductors led the growth. Memory semiconductor exports reached USD 40.94 billion, or about KRW 55.1 trillion, up 290.2%, and accounted for 68.3% of total ICT exports. The increase was attributed to rising demand for data center memory, including HBM (high-bandwidth memory) and DRAM modules for servers.
By contrast, system semiconductor exports rose only 24.3% to USD 5.09 billion. Results also varied by segment within system semiconductors. Packaging and test exports increased 16.4%, fabless exports rose 93.3%, but foundry exports fell 2%.
As a result, the increase in semiconductor exports was not evenly spread across all areas. The growth was concentrated in memory semiconductors, while the gap with system semiconductors also became clear.
The increase in semiconductor exports was supported by both rising demand for AI server memory and higher prices. Shipments of memory for AI servers have continued to rise since the first half of the year, and the upward trend in memory prices has also continued since the first half. According to the government announcement, the fixed transaction price of 8Gb DRAM rose from USD 20 in May to USD 25 in August, up 25%.
According to the government announcement, 128Gb NAND rose from USD 26.5 in May to USD 30.5 in August, up 15.1%. The source of the August 2026 memory price infographic was the Ministry of Science and ICT.
The same AI server demand also led to higher storage device exports. Computer and peripheral device exports hit a record high at USD 6.4 billion, up 383.1% from the same month a year earlier. SSD exports within that category rose 479.5% to USD 5.98 billion.
In particular, performance in the U.S. market stood out. SSD exports to the U.S. surged 1080.8% to USD 4.03 billion. Total ICT exports to the U.S. rose 306.5% to USD 9.46 billion, of which semiconductors accounted for USD 4.27 billion and computer and peripheral devices for USD 4.12 billion.
This month's increase in ICT exports was concentrated in memory and storage devices. Combined memory semiconductor and SSD exports came to USD 46.92 billion, accounting for 78.2% of total ICT exports. The main areas driving the export increase were memory and storage devices.
By region, the share of China and Hong Kong, the largest market, expanded again in August. ICT exports to China and Hong Kong rose 227.9% year over year to USD 27.32 billion, accounting for 45.5% of total ICT exports. The share trend for China and Hong Kong was 40.8% in May, 40.3% in June, 41.2% in July, and then rose in August.
China and Hong Kong emerged as the largest market by region. Semiconductor exports to China and Hong Kong totaled USD 24.41 billion. Overall, the growing share of China and Hong Kong was notable in regional export trends.
Mobile phone exports increased 23.2% to USD 1.64 billion. Finished product exports rose 38.6%, driven by stronger sales of premium new products. Parts exports rose 17.9%, supported by high-value-added component shipments to Apple.
By contrast, display exports fell 7% to USD 1.69 billion. OLED exports declined 7.2% to USD 1.25 billion, with OLED for mobile phones down 3.5%, OLED for TV down 15.5%, and OLED for laptops down 36.1%. The government said the main cause was a decline in unit prices for OLEDs used in finished products.
ICT imports in August reached USD 18.61 billion, or about KRW 25 trillion, up 48.8% from the same month a year earlier. The main import category driving the August increase was semiconductors. Semiconductor imports rose 71.4% to USD 11.28 billion, or about KRW 15.2 trillion, of which memory semiconductor imports increased 131.4% to USD 5.709 billion. System semiconductor imports rose 44.6% to USD 4.981 billion.
The semiconductor trade surplus was USD 35.39 billion. Of that, the memory semiconductor surplus was USD 35.234 billion, accounting for most of the semiconductor surplus. The system semiconductor surplus was tallied at USD 107 million. The computer and peripheral device surplus was USD 4.59 billion.
Cumulative ICT exports from January to August this year totaled USD 367.177 billion, up 129.3% from a year earlier. Cumulative semiconductor exports from January to August this year increased 171.6%. Cumulative memory semiconductor exports from January to August this year rose 256.6%.
Source: IT DAILY · Kim Byung-joo
Original: https://www.itdaily.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=241588
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Source: IT DAILY
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