In September, South Korea exported $16.6 billion worth of semiconductors, an amount equivalent to roughly one-fifth of its total merchandise shipments. This surge was not an outlier but part of a renewed upcycle powered by global demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM), the key component in generative AI infrastructure. With Samsung and SK Hynix controlling the lion’s share of this segment, South Korea has reclaimed its status at the forefront of the global chip industry. But the boom masks a deeper structural imbalance – one that the trade data make unmistakably clear.
For nearly seven consecutive years, semiconductors have consistently accounted for around a third of South Korea’s monthly exports. The precise figure fluctuates, but the overall share remains entrenched. The line in the chart rises and falls with global cycles, but it never drifts far from the same center of gravity.
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