News FlashAILast updated: 14 November 2024

South Korea's ICT Exports Rise 22 Percent to $20.8 Billion in October 2024 on HBM and AI Chip Demand

South Korea's exports of information and communications technology goods reached $20.8 billion in October 2024, rising 22 percent year on year from $17.05 billion and extending the sector's streak of monthly gains to a 12th consecutive month, according to data from the Ministry of Science and ICT reported by the Yonhap News Agency on November 14, 2024. October was also the third straight month in which ICT shipments stayed above the $20 billion mark, and the sector's $20.8 billion made up roughly 36 percent of the country's total October exports of $57.5 billion reported earlier in the month.

October 2024: a 12th straight month of ICT gains

The October dataset extends a growth sequence that has now run for a full year across the information and communications technology complex. Imports of ICT goods rose 5.7 percent year on year to $13.3 billion, leaving the sector with a trade surplus of $7.47 billion for the month. The headline figures released by the ministry are:

ICT exports — $20.8 billion, up 22 percent year on year, the 12th consecutive month of growth;
ICT imports — $13.3 billion, up 5.7 percent year on year;
sector trade surplus — $7.47 billion;
monthly level — a third consecutive month above $20 billion.

The arithmetic of the month is internally consistent: exports of $20.8 billion against imports of $13.3 billion leave a gap of about $7.5 billion, in line with the reported surplus of $7.47 billion. The pace of the gain also accelerated relative to the summer months, since holding above $20 billion for a third consecutive month required the October total to exceed both the August and September readings.

Chips: HBM and AI demand lift the sector's largest line

Semiconductors remained the backbone of the ICT complex. Chip exports rose 39.9 percent year on year to $12.6 billion in October 2024, marking a 12th consecutive month of double-digit growth for the category. The ministry attributed the strength to demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and other chips used in AI servers and AI services. Measured against the monthly total, semiconductors supplied roughly 61 percent of all ICT exports in October, which is why the chip line largely dictates the direction of the sector's headline figure.

Memory carries the chip line

Within the semiconductor category, memory chips delivered the sharpest gain: memory exports rose 63.9 percent year on year to $7.4 billion, a reading consistent with the HBM and AI server demand cited by the ministry. The hardware lines adjacent to semiconductors moved in the same direction:

mobile phones — $1.82 billion, up 21.2 percent year on year;
computers and peripherals — $1.12 billion, up 48.4 percent year on year, on demand for auxiliary storage devices;
displays — $1.8 billion, down 21.5 percent year on year;
communications equipment — $180 million, down 8.4 percent year on year.

A semiconductor wafer with a grid of dies and separate packaged chips, illustrating the memory chip exports that rose 63.9 percent to $7.4 billion in October 2024 — Memory chip exports climbed 63.9 percent year on year to $7.4 billion in October 2024 on high-bandwidth memory demand.

Displays and communications equipment move against the trend

Not every line of the ICT basket shared in the October gain. Display exports fell 21.5 percent year on year to $1.8 billion, the largest decline inside the sector, while communications equipment shipments slipped 8.4 percent to $180 million. The two declining lines together account for less than a tenth of the monthly ICT total, so their weakness was more than offset by the $12.6 billion chip line and the growth in mobile phones and computers.

Destinations: China and Hong Kong lead, the US accelerates

By destination, the October data show growth in four of the five main markets. Shipments to China together with Hong Kong rose 9.9 percent year on year to $8.29 billion, a 12th consecutive month of gains for that destination and still the largest single market for South Korean ICT goods. Exports to the US posted the fastest growth of the group, up 35.6 percent to $2.36 billion. Deliveries to Vietnam increased 6.4 percent to $3.42 billion, extending that market's growth streak to a 15th straight month, and shipments to the European Union rose 13.4 percent to $960 million. Only Japan moved against the trend, with ICT exports down 7.3 percent to $320 million.

Conclusion

October 2024 gave South Korea a 12th consecutive month of ICT export growth — $20.8 billion, up 22 percent year on year and a third straight month above the $20 billion mark — with a sector trade surplus of $7.47 billion against imports of $13.3 billion. Semiconductors supplied the bulk of the gain at $12.6 billion, up 39.9 percent on HBM and AI server demand, with memory chips alone rising 63.9 percent to $7.4 billion, while mobile phones and computers added 21.2 percent and 48.4 percent respectively. Displays and communications equipment declined, and among destinations China with Hong Kong, the US, Vietnam and the European Union all grew while Japan fell 7.3 percent — a dataset in which AI-linked hardware demand, not broad-based recovery, set the direction of the sector.