South Korea reported Nov. 1, 2026, that October exports rose 93.7% from a year earlier to $115.28 billion, as semiconductor shipments accounted for nearly half the total. The figures show how strongly the country’s goods trade has become tied to the chip industry and global investment in AI infrastructure.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources put semiconductor exports at $56.44 billion, up 259.4% year over year. It attributed sustained chip prices and shipment volumes to continued capital spending by major technology companies seeking an advantage in AI.
Second-highest month, not an all-time record
October was the second-highest month for total exports, behind September, according to the ministry’s ranking. KBS World also reported that distinction. The year-over-year increase does not mean exports rose from the preceding month.
Imports increased 36% from a year earlier to $72.78 billion, leaving a $42.5 billion trade surplus. Cumulative exports for January through October reached $930 billion.
Read the growth rate alongside the calendar
The ministry said average daily exports, adjusted for working days, increased 76% to $5.24 billion. That measure was also strong but grew less rapidly than the unadjusted monthly total.
For business readers, the distinction matters: export value is not a direct measure of physical shipment growth, because prices and product mix can also change. Nor does the national total establish the performance of any individual chipmaker.
The release points to a consequential concentration of export activity in semiconductors. It does not, by itself, establish future chip prices, customer capacity requirements or the pace of AI investment in the coming months.