Semiconductor exports are showing signs of recovery and continuing to show double-digit growth.

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on the 15th, ICT exports in January recorded 16.35 billion dollars (approximately 22 trillion won in Korean currency), resulting in a trade surplus of 4.5 billion dollars (approximately 6 trillion won).

The main item in January's ICT exports was semiconductors, which recorded double-digit growth for three consecutive months compared to the same month last year. Semiconductor exports have increased from 4.7% to 10.7% to 19.3% since October of last year, and are tentatively tallied at 53% increase in January, showing that they are driving the increase in ICT exports.

Overall ICT exports rose 25.1% compared to the same month last year, marking the first double-digit increase in 20 months since a 13.9% increase in May 2022.

By product, semiconductors (up 53.0%), displays (up 2.6%), computers and peripherals (up 33.6%), and communication equipment (up 27.6%) showed increases, while mobile phones (down 20.1%) showed decreases.

By region, most major regions showed increases, including China (including Hong Kong, up 43.1%), Vietnam (up 11.6%), the United States (up 4.9%), the European Union (up 1.9%), and Japan (up 1.5%).

■ Impact of rising memory ASPs, semiconductor exports reach $9.4 billion

Memory semiconductors account for a significant portion of domestic semiconductor exports. The memory sector has recently seen a significant increase in semiconductor exports, and is considered to be driving overall exports and semiconductor exports.

Total semiconductor exports amounted to $9.41 billion, or approximately 12.5 trillion won.

Memory semiconductors recorded exports of $5.27 billion, a dramatic increase of 90.5% compared to the same month last year. This amount accounts for 32% of total exports.

Contract prices have rebounded due to inventory reductions at major DRAM and NAND flash suppliers, including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, and memory demand has recovered at upstream companies, recording double-digit increases for three consecutive months.

System semiconductor exports reached $3.64 billion, a 25.5% increase year-on-year. Driven by increased investment in AI and a recovery in the semiconductor industry, exports returned to growth for the first time in 13 months since December 2022.

■ Displays are attracting attention for their high value-added panels, and PC equipment is seeing an increase in SSD auxiliary memory.

In the mobile sector, OLED exports decreased, while exports of high value-added items such as large OLED TVs increased, resulting in display exports in January reaching $1.5 billion, up 2.6% year-on-year.

Although OLED exports increased in some regions, including China, exports decreased in Vietnam, the largest consumer, causing OLED exports to fall 15.4% year-on-year to $810 million.

Meanwhile, LCD panel exports rose 51.9% to $450 million. LCD panel exports have been increasing for five consecutive months, with China increasing 13.0% and Vietnam increasing 179.6%.

OLED's market share is on the rise due to the expansion of OLED adoption in the overall display market.

Computer and peripheral device exports returned to growth for the first time in 19 months, driven by a significant increase in solid-state drives (SSDs), a key product. Exports reached $840 million, a 33.6% increase year-on-year, with SSDs accounting for $500 million (up 57.5%), driving the export growth.