Ministry of Trade Industry and Energy of Repu : Korea’s ICT industry exports $17.7 billion worth of goods in May

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on June 14 that Korea's information and communications technology (ICT) industry exported $17.7 billion (up 27.4 percent) worth of goods in May.

Imports climbed up 17.7 percent to $10.5 billion, and the trade balance was a surplus of $7.2 billion.

Outbound shipments of all major products experienced growth.

Semiconductor exports advanced 24.0 percent to $10.1 billion, hitting the $10.0 billion mark in 30 months. Memory chips went up 13.6 percent to $6.6 billion, and system chips jumped 55.7 percent to $3.0 billion, recording the highest monthly export value in history.

Shipments of displays moved up 38.7 percent to $1.8 billion. Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), liquid-crystal displays (LCDs), and parts all saw increases, up 64.2 percent to $970 million, 7.1 percent to $480 million, and 34.6 percent to $330 million, respectively.

Those of mobile phones gained 43.0 percent to $1.0 billion and went up for the seventh consecutive month. Both finished products (up 20.8 percent to $410 million) and parts (up 62.9 percent to $620 million) experienced year-on-year growth.

Computers and peripheral devices rose 9.8 percent to $1.3 billion thanks to increases in both computers (up 14.2 percent to $200 million) and peripheral devices (up 9.1 percent to $1.1 billion).

ICT exports to all major destinations went up.

Those to China improved 19.3 percent to $8.7 billion on the back of increases in semiconductors, displays, and mobile phones.

Those to Vietnam jumped 39.3 percent to 2.4 billion. The growth was attributable to higher demand for chips, displays, and mobile phones.

The value of ICT products shipped to the United States (U.S.) recorded $2.3 billion, up 30.5 percent from the same period last year. Strong sales of mobile phones and secondary batteries led to the expansion

Those to the European Union (EU) climbed up 34.4 percent to $1.0 billion because of mobile phones and secondary batteries.

Exports to Japan increased 12.9 percent to $335 million due to increases in semiconductors and computers and peripherals.

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