This year, domestic exports in the first half of the year increased by 9.0% year-on-year, achieving the second highest performance ever. With exports expected to continue to be the driving force for economic growth in the second half of the year, it is expected that productivity improvements based on the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) in the manufacturing industry will support this trend.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held the 7th Export Items Managers’ Meeting on the 22nd to review the export situation by item in July. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy reviewed the export conditions of Korea’s 15 major export items.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced, “Exports in the first half of this year increased by 9.0% year-on-year to $334.8 billion (approximately KRW 463.5975 trillion), achieving the second highest performance ever, and in particular, exports of nine out of 15 major items increased.” Among the items with increased exports and growth rates in the first half, semiconductors showed the highest growth rate at 52.2%. In addition, there are △automobiles (+3.8) △petroleum products (+7.4) △petrochemicals (+4.1) △ships (+28.7) △displays (+16.2) △computers (+43.2) △biohealth (+8.8), home appliances (+3.5), etc.

First Vice Minister Kang Kyung-sung said after examining the export situation by item, “Our exports continued their steady upward trend in July, and this trend is expected to continue in the second half of the year.”

In particular, in Korea, steps are being taken to introduce AI to manufacturing sites to increase productivity, safety, and environmental friendliness. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held the 'AI Autonomous Manufacturing Alliance Launch Ceremony' on the 22nd with about 250 representatives from academia, industry, and research. The launch ceremony was attended by Hyundai Motor Company, LG Electronics, DN Solutions, POSCO, EcoPro, GS Caltex, KAI, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, Kolon, JPDC, etc.


The AI Autonomous Manufacturing Alliance aims to improve productivity and quality through AI and expand AI to the entire value chain, including partners.

Hyundai Motor Company said, "If demand for a specific model decreases at an automobile factory, the factory will operate inefficiently. In the future, we will introduce an AI autonomous factory to connect all production elements with data and create an SDF (Software Defined Factory) that quickly reflects customer requirements."

LG Electronics also said, "We will utilize AI, big data, 5G, and robots to innovate home appliance production. “We built LG Smart Park, a digital lighthouse factory, and achieved a 17% increase in productivity by utilizing logistics automation, digital twin, and AI/ML technologies,” he said.

The AI Autonomous Manufacturing Alliance is comprised of 153 companies and organizations in 12 industries. The proportion of SMEs is high, with large corporations (21%), medium-sized companies (23%), and SMEs (56%). This year, the AI Autonomous Manufacturing Alliance will start with more than 10 projects and discover and promote 200 projects by 2028. More than 2.5 trillion won will be invested through public-private partnerships. Leading projects will be supported with a budget of up to 10 billion won per task.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said, “We can build a productivity system that optimizes schedules and resource allocation through real-time monitoring and AI data analysis. AI can also help with automatic detection and predictive maintenance of product defects. Carbon reduction can also be realized in the process.” It also said, “Despite the short preparation period, we had a high competition rate of 21 to 1. Domestic manufacturing companies are understanding the importance of introducing AI to manufacturing to respond to the decrease in the production population, improve product sophistication, and increase production efficiency.”

The AI Autonomous Manufacturing Alliance plans to expand standard models based on the technology and data accumulated through leading projects. By 2028, standard models will be created and distributed to more than 100 workplaces.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced plans to win R&D projects worth 300 billion won this year. The Korea Trade Insurance Corporation will provide 10 trillion won in financial support over five years to companies participating in leading projects. The government plans to increase the adoption rate of AI autonomous manufacturing in manufacturing sites from the current 5% to over 40% by 2030, increase manufacturing productivity by 20%, and increase GDP (gross domestic product) by over 3%.

Kang Kyung-sung, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, evaluated that “Exports are moving toward the goal of not only recovering but also achieving the highest performance ever, and major organizations are reflecting this trend by upwardly revising their economic growth rates, indicating that exports are bringing a favorable wind to our economy,” and emphasized that “Exports will continue to be the key driving force for our economic growth in the second half of the year.”

In addition, he said, “In order to achieve the export targets for each item, such as $135 billion for semiconductors and $100 billion for automobiles and parts, announced at the 5th ‘Public-Private Joint Export Expansion Countermeasure Meeting,’ so that our exports can record the highest performance ever, the public and private sectors will provide full support as a single team.”