Ministry of Industry, Trade Trends for H1 2024 and June
H1 Exports Up 9.1%·Trade Surplus $23.1 Billion
Exports Positive for 9 Consecutive Months…Trade Balance Surplus for 13 Months
Exports continued to increase for nine consecutive months through June this year, with first-half exports rising more than 9% compared to last year. This strong export performance led to both positive export growth and a trade surplus being recorded simultaneously for the first time in three years since 2021.
According to the '2024 First Half and June Export-Import Trends' announced by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on the 1st, first-half export value reached $334.8 billion, a 9.1% increase from the previous year.
In the first half, exports of 9 out of the 15 major export items increased. Semiconductor exports, the largest export item, rose 52.2% year-on-year to $65.7 billion, achieving the second-highest performance ever for the first half, driven by rising memory prices and increased demand from server-centered upstream industries.
Automobiles, the second-largest export item, recorded a historic first-half export high of $37 billion (3.8%), supported by strong exports of hybrid vehicles (19.5%). Ship exports maintained their strong momentum from last year, reaching $11.8 billion (28.0%) in the first half of this year.
Exports increased in 6 out of 9 major regions. Exports to the United States hit a record high for any first half at $64.3 billion (16.8%), marking the fourth consecutive year of record-breaking performance since 2021. Exports to China also contributed to Korea’s export growth, increasing 5.4% year-on-year to $63.4 billion.
First-half imports decreased by 6.5% to $311.7 billion. Energy imports saw a slight increase in crude oil imports ($44 billion, 3.9%), but gas (-27.9%) and coal (-23.5%) imports sharply declined, resulting in an overall 10.0% decrease. The trade balance recorded a surplus of $23.1 billion, the largest first-half surplus since 2018 ($31.1 billion surplus).
June exports rose 5.1% year-on-year to $57.07 billion, marking nine consecutive months of growth. Imports fell 7.5% to $49.07 billion, with a trade surplus of $8 billion.
Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Deok-geun stated, "In the first half of this year, we recorded positive export growth and a trade surplus simultaneously for the first time in three years since 2021. In particular, exports of IT items such as semiconductors, which experienced a downturn last year, and exports to China and ASEAN rebounded significantly this year. Along with the continued strong export performance of automobiles and the United States, which have been setting record highs since last year, our exports are moving beyond recovery toward achieving the highest export performance ever."
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