emirates7 - The Republic of Korea's exports of information and communication technology (ICT) products more than doubled in March from a year earlier, driven by strong semiconductor demand amid the global artificial intelligence (AI) boom, government data showed Tuesday.

Outbound ICT shipments reached US$43.51 billion last month, up from $20.52 billion a year earlier, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing data from the Ministry of Science and ICT.

This marks the first time that monthly ICT exports have exceeded $40 billion for the month of March.

Imports rose 32.2 percent on-year to $16.15 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $27.36 billion in the sector.

ICT exports accounted for 50.5 percent of the country's total exports of $86.13 billion last month, reaffirming the sector's status as a core growth engine of the Korean economy, the ministry said in a release.

By product, semiconductor exports surged 151 percent to $32.84 billion from $13.06 billion a year earlier, supported by robust demand from global AI data centres.