South Korea's Semiconductor Exports Surge Past 400 Trillion Won in Historic Milestone

South Korea's semiconductor industry has crossed a historic threshold, with cumulative exports for the year surpassing 400 trillion won, or roughly $297.3 billion, according to figures released by the Korea Customs Service. The milestone reflects the extraordinary momentum chipmakers have built as artificial intelligence infrastructure spending drives unprecedented global demand for advanced memory.

In the first ten days of September alone, semiconductor shipments totaled $16.48 billion, a jump of 270.1% from the same period last year and the strongest ten-day figure ever recorded. Chips accounted for 47.1% of the country's overall exports during that window, a 23.9 percentage-point increase from a year earlier, underscoring how central semiconductors have become to Korea's trade profile.

The cumulative total for 2026 now stands at roughly $297.68 billion, already dwarfing the previous annual record of $173.4 billion set in 2025 and the $141.9 billion high reached in 2024. With several weeks still left in the year, the sector is on pace for a third consecutive year of record-breaking exports.

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have been the primary engines behind the surge, together posting a combined operating profit of 241 trillion won, or about $179.1 billion, in the first half of the year. Samsung's chip division alone generated 209.2 trillion won in first-half revenue and 142.9 trillion won in operating profit, while SK Hynix posted an operating margin of 76.3% as high-bandwidth memory for AI servers and firmer memory prices lifted both companies' results sharply in the second quarter.

The export boom is also fueling hopes that South Korea could become only the fourth country in the world, after the United States, China and Germany, to reach $1 trillion in annual exports. Cumulative exports through early September already exceed last year's full-year total, and analysts say the trajectory of chip shipments will largely determine whether the country reaches that target by year-end.

The rally has reshaped investor behavior at home as well, with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix becoming by far the most searched stocks on domestic trading platforms, well ahead of other large-cap names. Kim Dong-won, head of research at KB Securities, said Samsung has entered a steep earnings growth phase and that additional shareholder returns, including buybacks and dividends, are likely later this year.

Analysts caution that trade policy shifts and geopolitical tensions remain risks, but with global AI infrastructure spending expected to continue through the second half, few see the memory chip supercycle losing steam anytime soon.