The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that Korean information and communications technology industry in May reached USD 13.9 billion in exports and $8.9 billion in imports. The trade balance stood at a surplus of $5.0 billion.
Exports of Korean ICT goods last month experienced a year-on-year decline of 2.6 percent, but decreased by a smaller percentage compared to those in April (down 15.3 percent).
By item, shipments of semiconductors, and computers and peripherals experienced increases while those of displays and mobile phones saw decreases.
Exports of semiconductors improved 6.5 percent to $8.2 billion as a result of growing global demand for memory chips and system semiconductors.
Those of computers and peripheral devices jumped 73.0 percent to $1.2 billion and recorded the 8th consecutive month of growth. Solid-state drives spiked 160.2 percent to $960 million.
Displays shipped overseas fell 21.1 percent to $1.3 billion. Production adjustments of liquid-crystal display (LCD) panels and a slowdown in organic light-emitting diode panel demand led to the decline.
The value of mobile phones exported went down 21.5 percent to $730 million. Smartphone sales contracted due to sluggish global demand.
By region, Korean ICT exports to China and the U.S. increased while those to Vietnam, the EU, and Japan decreased.
Shipments to China inched up 2.1 percent to $7.3 billion. Semiconductors and computers and peripherals saw increases.
Shipments to the U.S. improved 17.9 percent to $1.7 billion and recorded the fifth consecutive month of growth. This is primarily attributable to strong sales of semiconductors and computers and peripheral devices.
Meanwhile, exports to Vietnam fell 10.4 percent to $1.7 billion due to weak semiconductor and mobile phone sales.
Korean ICT goods shipped to the EU edged down 0.6 percent to $850 million as semiconductors decreased in exports.
Those to Japan also went down 18.9 percent to $300 million due to a slowdown in semiconductor sales.
For imports, semiconductors and displays shrank while computers and peripheral devices and mobile phones advanced.
The value of computers and peripheral devices increased 34.2 percent to $1.2 billion and imports of mobile phones went up 6.5 percent to $800 million.
Meanwhile, imports of semiconductors slowed down 14.8 percent to $3.9 billion and those of displays contracted 11.9 percent to $320 million.
By import origin, shipments from Vietnam gained (up 24.3 percent to $870 million), while those from the following regions contracted: China (down 33.6 percent to $3.1 billion), the U.S. (down 20.7 percent to $600 million), Japan (down 23.9 percent to $600 million), and the EU (down 18.2 percent to $470 million).