Semiconductors and automobiles accounted for a record 31.7 percent of Korea’s total exports during the second quarter of this year, a tally showed, Sunday.
According to data from the Korea International Trade Association, semiconductors accounted for 20.3 percent of the country’s outbound shipments from April to June, followed by automobiles at 11.4 percent.
Combined, chips and cars accounted for 31.7 percent of total exports, marking the highest contribution ever. The previous record was 29.7 percent in the first quarter of this year.
The combined value of exports from these two segments reached $54.3 billion, setting a new quarterly record.
The improvements are attributable to the recovery of the semiconductor market.
Last year, chips accounted for 13.6 percent and 14.5 percent of total exports in the first and the second quarters, respectively, but improvements in 바카라게임 average selling prices and soaring memory demand this year resulted in a rebound, lifting the share to 19 percent in the first quarter and 20.3 percent in the second quarter.
Market analysts forecast a solid recovery in semiconductor demand in the second half of this year, driven by rising memory chip prices and the planned deliveries of memory chips for artificial intelligence (AI) processors.
Korea’s leading chip suppliers, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, reported strong earnings for the second quarter and forecast stable demand growth in advanced memory chips for AI servers and on-device AI services in the second half of the year.