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The Korea Customs Service data showed outbound shipments reaching $21.3 billion between Aug. 1 and 10, up from $14.6 billion a year earlier. This marked the highest amount ever recorded for the first 10 days of any August. Imports rose 23.1 percent on year to $19.5 billion over the period, producing a trade surplus of $1.8 billion.
Semiconductor exports jumped 155.4 percent to $9.95 billion and made up 46.8 percent of all outbound shipments, an increase of 20.1 percentage points from the prior year, according to the service. The agency linked the advance to robust global demand for memory chips tied to artificial intelligence applications. Petroleum product exports climbed 65.3 percent to $1.99 billion in the same window.
The customs service figures placed automobile exports at $182 million, an 80.9 percent decline from the year-earlier period. This drop occurred even as overall trade momentum remained positive. The data offered no immediate breakdown of factors behind the automotive contraction.
Exports to China doubled to $6.7 billion while shipments to Vietnam advanced 45.4 percent to $2.39 billion, the Korea Customs Service reported. Deliveries to the United States slipped 0.2 percent to $2 billion. These regional outcomes produced the overall 45.3 percent expansion for the 10-day period.
Cumulative exports from the beginning of the year through Aug. 10 totaled $616.3 billion, a 50.3 percent increase from the same span in 2025, according to the service. The running trade surplus stood at $169.5 billion. The service’s preliminary tallies continue to reflect sustained trade strength into the third quarter.
The early August results follow July’s performance, when full-month exports rose 52.3 percent to a record $54.9 billion, separate Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy data indicated. In contrast, the Korea Customs Service reported a 4.3 percent export decline for the first 10 days of August 2025 and a 15.3 percent drop in the same period of 2023. Semiconductors have remained the dominant driver through each of these intervals.
