SEOUL, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's export of information and communications technology (ICT) products hit a record monthly high due to soaring semiconductor demand, government data showed Sunday.
The ICT products shipment surged 24.3 percent from a year earlier to 25.45 billion U.S. dollars in November, keeping an upward trend since February, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources.
It topped the previous high of 25.40 billion dollars tallied in September on the back of soaring chip demand.
Chip export spiked 38.6 percent to reach a new high of 17.27 billion dollars on solid demand for high-end products, such as double data rate 5 (DDR5) and high bandwidth memory (HBM) used in generative artificial intelligence (AI) chipsets.
Display panel shipment declined 3.7 percent to 1.60 billion dollars, but mobile phone export gained 3.5 percent to 1.50 billion dollars.
Shipment for computers and peripherals added 1.9 percent to 1.52 billion dollars, while communications equipment export climbed 3.3 percent to 200 million dollars.
Import for ICT products expanded 2.7 percent over the year to 12.77 billion dollars in November, sending the trade surplus in the ICT industry to 12.69 billion dollars.
Imports for mobile phones, computers and communications equipment posted a double-digit growth, but those for chips and display panels retreated in single figures last month. ■
