{"id":16699,"date":"2026-05-14T12:00:05","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T12:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/16699\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T12:00:05","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T12:00:05","slug":"south-koreas-ict-exports-hit-all-time-growth-rate-of-125-9-in-april-driven-by-ai-server-chip-demand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/16699\/","title":{"rendered":"South Korea’s ICT Exports Hit All-Time Growth Rate of 125.9% in April, Driven by AI Server Chip Demand"},"content":{"rendered":"

South Korea’s information technology exports reached $42.71 billion in April 2026<\/a> \u2014 a 125.9% year-on-year increase and the highest growth rate ever recorded in the country’s ICT export history \u2014 as global spending on AI server infrastructure sent demand for memory chips and solid-state drives to record levels, South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources (MOTIR) and Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) announced Wednesday<\/a>. Imports came to $16.16 billion, leaving a provisional trade surplus of $26.55 billion.<\/p>\n

Samsung Warns Memory Gap Will Widen Further in 2027<\/p>\n

The data lands two weeks after Samsung Electronics reported a record quarterly chip-division operating profit of 53.7 trillion won ($36.1 billion) for Q1 2026<\/a> \u2014 up 49% year-on-year \u2014 and its memory chief Kim Jaejune told analysts that the supply-demand gap for 2027 is set to widen further than in 2026. SK Hynix issued a similar warning the week before<\/a>, with SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won suggesting AI-related memory demand pressure could persist toward 2030. The April trade figures confirm that, for now, the demand side of that equation is accelerating rather than easing.<\/p>\n

For technology buyers, procurement officers, and enterprise IT teams, the numbers carry a direct cost implication: the same AI server buildout that is lifting South Korea’s trade surplus is also the force behind server DRAM contract prices that Samsung and SK Hynix raised by 60\u201370% in Q1 2026 versus Q4 2025<\/a>. Those increases are expected to flow through to data center operating costs and, eventually, consumer hardware pricing.<\/p>\n

Semiconductor Shipments Cross $30 Billion for the Second Straight Month<\/p>\n

Semiconductors accounted for $31.91 billion of April’s total \u2014 up 173.3% year-on-year \u2014 the highest-ever April figure for any single export category<\/a>, and the second consecutive month above the $30 billion threshold. The engine behind the gain is AI infrastructure investment: hyperscalers including Microsoft, Google, and Amazon Web Services have been flying procurement teams to South Korea to lock in DRAM supply<\/a> as Samsung and SK Hynix redirect manufacturing capacity toward high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips for AI accelerators, tightening availability of standard server DRAM.<\/p>\n

The two Korean chipmakers \u2014 alongside U.S.-based Micron Technology \u2014 control more than 90% of the global DRAM market<\/a>. As of Q1 2025, SK Hynix led the global DRAM market with a 36% share, overtaking Samsung’s 34% for the first time<\/a>.<\/p>\n

SSD Exports Exceed $4 Billion for the First Time as AI Storage Demand Explodes<\/p>\n

Computers and peripherals \u2014 a category dominated by enterprise solid-state drives \u2014 posted $4.26 billion in April exports, a 430% year-on-year increase and an all-time monthly record<\/a>. The figure reflects surging demand for SSD-based storage in AI servers, where each training or inference rack requires substantial fast-access storage alongside memory. April’s result extends a trend that began accelerating in late 2024<\/a>, when AI data center construction entered a capital-intensive expansion phase across the United States and East Asia.<\/p>\n

Mobile Phones Sustain Growth; Displays Remain the Sole Category in Decline<\/p>\n

Mobile phone exports reached $1.36 billion in April, up 14.0% year-on-year, supported by premium handset sales and high-value components including camera modules \u2014 a segment where Samsung’s Galaxy S26 lineup<\/a> drove revenue in the quarter.<\/p>\n

Displays were the only major product category to register a decline, falling 5.3% to $1.44 billion. The shortfall reflects a familiar dynamic: rising semiconductor input costs are compressing display panel margins, while downstream consumer electronics brands are absorbing those costs rather than passing them on \u2014 softening panel reorder volumes.<\/p>\n

U.S. Semiconductor Purchases from South Korea Surged 294% as AI Data Center Construction Accelerates<\/p>\n

By destination, every major market posted record-breaking growth<\/a>. The United States led all regions with a 294.2% jump in total ICT purchases, with semiconductor shipments to the U.S. alone surging 671.5% \u2014 a figure that reflects the scale of data center investment by U.S. hyperscalers. South Korea’s first-quarter exports of $219.9 billion outpaced Japan’s $188.5 billion<\/a>, raising the prospect that South Korea could surpass Japan in annual export volume for the first time if semiconductor momentum holds through year-end.<\/p>\n

China \u2014 South Korea’s largest single export market, including Hong Kong \u2014 extended its growth streak to nine consecutive months with a 132.1% increase. Vietnam rose 89.3%, Taiwan 89.4%, and the European Union 58.4%, all driven primarily by semiconductor demand.<\/p>\n

ICT Sector Now Accounts for Half of South Korea’s Total Exports<\/p>\n

ICT exports in April accounted for 49.7% of South Korea’s total goods exports of $85.89 billion \u2014 nearly half the country’s entire outbound trade in a single sector. South Korea’s total exports exceeded $700 billion in 2025 for the first time<\/a>, with semiconductor exports reaching $173.4 billion annually \u2014 up 22.2% \u2014 and setting monthly records for nine consecutive months beginning in April 2025<\/a>. April 2026’s 125.9% growth rate suggests the cycle has not yet peaked.<\/p>\n

The trade balance \u2014 a provisional surplus of $26.55 billion in April \u2014 extended a run of surpluses above $20 billion to three consecutive months, a sequence with no precedent in South Korean export history. For context, South Korea’s full-year ICT trade surplus in 2025 was $113.04 billion<\/a>; April’s single-month figure of $26.55 billion represents nearly a quarter of that annual total.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"South Korea’s information technology exports reached $42.71 billion in April 2026 \u2014 a 125.9% year-on-year increase and the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16700,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[12027,31,33],"class_list":["post-16699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-south-korea","tag-ict","tag-korea","tag-south-korea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16699"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16699\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}