South Korea’s exports hit record high on AI boom

Exports jump 83.5 percent to top $120bn for the first time amid ferocious semiconductor demand.Published On 1 Oct 20261 Oct 2026South Korea’s exports have surged to a monthly record amid explosive demand for chips used to power artificial intelligence.Exports jumped 83.5 percent year-on-year to $120.9bn in September, eclipsing the previous monthly record of $102.25bn set in June, preliminary customs figures showed on Thursday.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Trump amazed that an ‘Israeli plumber’ helped land Flydubai flightlist 2 of 4Iran parades Shahed drones through capitallist 3 of 4Passengers tell of ‘nightmare’ onboard diverted Flydubai flightlist 4 of 4Iraq celebrates Sovereignty Day as US troops complete withdrawalend of listChip shipments accounted for nearly half of exports, soaring more than 260 percent to $60.3bn, according to data from the Korea Customs Service.Total exports from January through September hit $814.5bn, exceeding those for all of 2025, when exports reached a record $709.7bn.During the first nine months of the year, the country recorded a trade surplus of $49.85bn.“This is a valuable achievement that once again demonstrates the strength of ou...