KB News DeskS. Korea becomes fourth country to reach global export milestone, following Germany, China, US
South Korea’s exports surpassed $100 billion for the first time for the month of June, making it only the fourth country in the world to reach the milestone, after Germany, China and the United States.
Korea’s exports marked $102.25 billion in June, up 70.9 percent from a year earlier, according to preliminary data released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
Fueling June’s performance were semiconductors, which surged 199.5 percent to $44.8 billion, accounting for 43.8 percent of the value of total exports. Out of the country’s 20 major export items, 18 recorded growth in June, including automobiles and ships.
Beyond joining the $100 billion monthly export club, June’s data included a series of notable milestones. Semiconductors surpassed $40 billion in monthly exports for the first time, while the trade surplus topped $30 billion, another historic high. The country’s trade balance remained in the black for a 17th consecutive month.
Looking at the broader six-month period, first-half exports reached a record $496.7 billion, up 48.4 percent from a year earlier. Semiconductor exports jumped 163 percent over the same period.
“South Korea was able to post a record export performance in the first half on the back of robust semiconductor exports driven by demand for AI servers,” Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said in a statement.
Ministry officials said the country could be on track to surpass $1 trillion in annual exports for the first time if current momentum continues, though they cautioned that conditions in the second half remain uncertain.
Feat with a chip caveat
Using monthly merchandise export data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Germany first crossed the $100 billion monthly export threshold in October 2006, followed by China in June 2007 and the United States in October 2007.
South Korea’s entry into the group comes amid a very different export structure. While Germany’s manufacturing base is highly diversified, China’s growth reflects its scale-driven industrial platform and the United States maintains a broad mix of goods and services. On the contrary, South Korea’s milestone is heavily concentrated in AI-linked semiconductors.
Global demand for artificial intelligence is booming, driving strong demand for memory chips, particularly high-bandwidth memory used in AI infrastructure, an area dominated by South Korean chipmakers SK hynix and Samsung Electronics.
Germany’s milestone was built on a broad high-end manufacturing base rather than a single sector, anchored in motor vehicles and parts, machinery, electronic and optical products, as well as chemicals.
China’s rise reflected its integration into global supply chains following its entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001. Its export growth was supported by industrial policy and rapid expansion into electronics and other technology-intensive goods.
The United States, by contrast, shows a more balanced external profile. In April 2026, goods exports rose, led by capital goods such as computers and civilian aircraft, as well as industrial supplies and materials. Services exports totaled $105.8 billion, underscoring the central role of services in its trade structure.
