[Young journalist Minkyeol Kim] South Korea’s exports recorded $98.9 billion last month, continuing their good performance.

Semiconductors, the country’s main export item, led exports by recording more than $40 billion for two consecutive months. The trade surplus also exceeded $30 billion, following the previous month.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources announced on August 1 that July exports were $98.89 billion, which increased by 62.8% compared to the same period last year.

It was the second-highest monthly export amount in history, following June’s record($102.25 billion), when monthly exports exceeded $100 billion for the first time.

Semiconductor exports increased by 179% to $41.01 billion, also recording the second-highest monthly export amount ever. The highest record was $44.8 billion in June.

Despite concerns about Apple’s possibility of using Chinese memory semiconductors and China’s announcement of a new artificial intelligence (AI) model, semiconductor exports continued to show strong performance as fixed prices kept rising.

Exports of all IT products also recorded growth. Computer exports increased sharply by 404.0% to $4.79 billion.

As big tech companies continued expanding their investment in AI infrastructure, demand for enterprise solid-state drives (SSDs) continued to increase.

Exports of wireless communication devices reached $1.81 billion, up 51.0%, thanks to strong sales of premium products such as the Galaxy S26. Display exports recorded $1.61 billion, up 2.4%, as they exclusively supplied new products such as the foldable iPhone Ultra.

Among the country’s 20 major export items, exports increased in 19 items in July, except for home appliances.

By region, exports increased in 8 out of 9 major export regions, excluding the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

Exports to China increased by 96.2% to $21.68 billion, exceeding $20 billion for the second consecutive month. Exports to the United States also increased by 69% to $17.43 billion.

Thanks to strong performances in major items such as semiconductors and ships, exports to ASEAN increased by 73.7% to $18.8 billion, and exports to the European Union (EU) increased by 55.7% to $9.38 billion. Both achieved the highest export records ever.

Exports to the Middle East, which had been decreasing due to the influence of the war in the region, also increased by 24.7% to $1.83 billion. Although automobile exports performed poorly, general machinery, petrochemicals, and wireless communication devices showed good results.

Imports in July increased by 26.5% to $68.56 billion, and the trade balance recorded a surplus of $30.32 billion.

The accumulated trade surplus from January to July reached $168 billion, increasing by $134.1 billion compared with the same period last year.

▶원문 기사:7월 수출 989억달러…반도체 2개월 연속 400억달러 돌파 (이코노미스트, 2026. 8. 1)

◆이코노미스트가 글로벌 차세대 경제 리더, 청소년 기자단 영 저널리스트와 함께합니다. 영 저널리스트 기자단은 프리미엄 경제지 이코노미스트, 논술 전문 기관 Ni 에듀케이션과 함께 주요 시사 이슈를 팔로우업하고 직접 기획, 취재, 기사 작성 활동을 하며 사회적 문제를 고심하고 해결 방안을 제시하는 과정을 경험하게 됩니다. 이번 기사는 영 저널리스트 기자단이 이코노미스트 기사를 영문으로 번역하며 이슈를 팔로우업한 기사입니다. 차세대 글로벌 경제 리더, <영 저널리스트 with  이코노미스트> 영문 기사는 매주 연재됩니다.  

ⓒ이코노미스트(https://economist.co.kr) '내일을 위한 경제뉴스 이코노미스트' 무단 전재 및 재배포 금지