Korea's exports rebound slightly, but shaky chip shipments cloud future

Containers are stacked at a port in Busan on March 2. [NEWS1]

 
Korea’s export growth rebounded in February after the previous month’s yearly contraction. The turnaround, however, remained mild, with chips exports breaking their 16-month streak of on-year growth — a reflection of the country’s weakening growth momentum amid mounting trade uncertainty.
 
The value of shipments rose 1 percent from the same period a year earlier to $52.6 billion in February, according to data the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy released Saturday. The uptick followed a 10.2 percent on-year decline in January, which put an end to a 15-month streak of yearly growth that began in October 2023.
 

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Imports rose 0.2 percent to $48.3 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $4.3 billion, which marked a turnaround from January’s trade deficit of $1.9 billion. 
 
The ministry attributed the previous month’s decline mainly to the extended Lunar New Year holiday, which resulted in an unusually small number of business days.
 
Korea's semiconductor exports declined 3 percent from a year earlier to $9.6 billion, despite robust demand for advanced chips, with a significant price drop in legacy memory — such as Double Data Rate 4 and NAND — leading the contraction.
 
Semiconductors drove export growth in 2024, as chip exports grew 50.7 percent in the first quarter of last year, 53.5 percent in the second, 41.4 percent in the third and 34 percent in the fourth. The growth decelerated to an 8.1 percent increase in January before taking a downturn in February.
 
On the other hand, car exports took a strong upturn after a three-month decrease, rising 17.8 percent to $6.1 billion, with hybrid cars driving the surge. Biopharmaceuticals exports increased 16.1 percent to $1.4 billion. Exports of wireless communication devices also jumped 42.3 percent to $1.47 billion.
 
Petroleum products declined 12.2 percent to $3.9 billion due to lower oil prices and reduced production as domestic refiners underwent regular maintenance.
 
Exports to the United States inched up 1 percent to $9.9 billion while exports to China declined 1.4 percent to $9.5 billion.
 
“Korean industry’s export competitiveness remained firm despite unprecedented external uncertainties fueled by the U.S. administration’s series of trade policy announcements,” said Ahn Duk-geun, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, promising an “all-out effort” to retain export momentum.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]