While the semiconductor and IT industries are driving the domestic export boom, the Middle East risk factor due to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah is emerging as a variable in the supply chain.

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) on the 26th, Korea's export performance continued to increase in August following July, making it certain that exports will increase for 11 consecutive months.

At the export trend review meeting, First Vice Minister Park Seong-taek reviewed export conditions by major item and said, “With August also expected to be the 11th consecutive month of export growth and the 15th consecutive month of export surplus, we will support the upward trend in exports to continue until the end of the year so that we can achieve the highest export performance ever this year.”

According to officially released data, exports have increased for ten consecutive months through July, with cumulative exports reaching $392.5 billion, a 9.8% year-on-year increase. The trade balance has been in surplus for 14 consecutive months, reaching a cumulative surplus of $26.8 billion through July, more than doubling the $10.3 billion deficit for the entire year.

By major item, semiconductors, the largest export item, are expected to record cumulative exports of $76.9 billion as of 2024, a 52% increase from the previous year. Exports of information technology (IT) products, including semiconductors, recorded $102.3 billion as of July this year, up 41% year-on-year, driving the strong growth in our exports.

Automobiles, the second-largest export item, recorded a 2% increase to $42.4 billion, while general machinery, the third-largest, saw a 0.2% increase to $31.1 billion. This represents the highest export performance ever recorded for the same period. In addition, exports of key items are continuing to show a favorable trend, including: △ships, up 19% at $12.9 billion; △petroleum products, up 9% at $31 billion; and △petrochemicals, up 7% at $28.6 billion.

Vice Minister Park emphasized, “Among the top 10 global exporting countries this year, Korea is recording the highest export growth rate,” and evaluated, “Since October of last year, exports have shown a solid upward trend, playing a solid role as a driving force for our economic growth.”

Meanwhile, an emergency inspection of export and import situations was conducted in preparation for the situation in the Middle East escalating due to the clashes between Israel and Hezbollah that occurred on the 25th.

Vice Minister Park said, “The Middle East is an important region for energy security as it supplies 72% of domestic crude oil imports and 32% of gas imports,” and added, “There have been no disruptions in the domestic import of crude oil and LNG, and oil tankers and liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers loading or sailing near the Middle East are also operating normally.”

He also said, “Although the Middle East’s share of exports is not large, at around 2%, if the instability in the Middle East worsens, it will act as a risk factor through oil prices and logistics costs, which will have a large ripple effect on our exports,” and emphasized, “So far, the shipment and delivery of our goods have been proceeding without a hitch, but we need to take preemptive measures to minimize the negative impact on our exports in the future.”