SEOUL, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's conglomerate exports more than doubled in the third quarter, driven by a robust semiconductor boom amid a widening polarization between large and small companies, government data showed Tuesday.
The country's outbound shipments totaled 318.6 billion U.S. dollars in the July-September quarter, up 72.3 percent compared to the same quarter last year, according to joint data by the Ministry of Data and Statistics and the Korea Customs Service.
Exports by large enterprises skyrocketed 103.5 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, fueled by powerhouse chipmakers such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.
Having lingered in single digits previously, conglomerate export growth accelerated from 10.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025 to 53.9 percent in the first quarter of 2026 and 81.7 percent in the second quarter before reaching triple figures in the third quarter.
Exports by middle-market companies grew 12.8 percent in the third quarter after rising 10.8 percent in the previous quarter, while those by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) gained 10.7 percent in the third quarter, slower than the 12.7 percent expansion in the second quarter.
The middle-market firms are officially designated as high potential enterprises (HPEs) in South Korea, which outgrew SMEs in revenue and assets while remaining smaller than major conglomerates.
The rapid expansion of tech giants intensified market concentration, with the share of total exports for the country's top 10 exporters jumping 20.3 percentage points year-on-year to 60.9 percent in the third quarter.
Expanding the scope to the top 100 exporters, their combined export share climbed 11.5 percentage points to 79.4 percent. ■