emirates7 - Exports of the Republic of Korea increased by 14.9 percent year-on-year in the first 20 days of January, driven by strong demand for semiconductors, official data showed on Wednesday.

Outbound shipments reached $36.36 billion during the January 1–20 period, compared with $31.63 billion recorded in the same period last year, according to data released by the Korea Customs Service.

Imports rose by 4.2 percent year-on-year to $36.98 billion over the same period, resulting in a trade deficit of around $600 million, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The daily average volume of exports also advanced by 14.9 percent year-on-year, as the number of working days remained unchanged at 14.5 days compared with a year earlier.

By item, exports of semiconductors surged 70.2 percent from a year earlier to $10.73 billion. Chip exports accounted for 29.5 percent of the country's total exports over the cited period, up 9.6 percentage points from the same period last year.

Exports of petroleum products went up 17.6 percent to $2.46 billion, and steel exports edged up 1.2 percent to $2.4 billion.

But automobile exports sank 10.8 percent on-year to $2.87 billion, while shipments of vessels dipped 18.1 percent to $1.33 billion.

In December, exports expanded 13.4 percent from a year earlier to $69.6 billion on strong demand for semiconductors, marking the 11th consecutive month of an on-year increase.

For 2025, outbound shipments reached an all-time high of $709.7 billion.