In October, South Korea sent abroad $70.35 billion worth of information and communications technology goods, a figure that rose more than threefold from a year earlier and marked the first time monthly growth has passed 200% since records began. The surge rests almost entirely on the appetite of artificial intelligence data centers for memory chips and solid-state drives, much of it flowing to American buyers, while the smaller firms that make up the country's broader industrial fabric have grown far more slowly. It is a reminder that a single technological tide can lift some vessels dramatica
South Korea's ICT Exports Hit $70.35B in October, Growth Tops 200% as AI Memory Boom Accelerates
The recovery is running at different temperatures across sectors and firm sizes.
Mark
Why does crossing 200% matter, beyond being a record?
Mimi
It shows how fast the mix changed. Growth has set records for three months straight, and chips are 80.3% of ICT exports.
Mark
What's driving it?
Mimi
Memory. DRAM rose 595.3% to $33.77 billion, and SSDs rose 584.3%, with the U.S. taking $3.83 billion of those.
Luke
The report ties this to AI infrastructure spending and demand outpacing supply. That's the agencies' explanation. The numbers show what shipped, not the exact cause.
Mark
Do prices explain some of it?
Mimi
Partly. The 8Gb DRAM contract price went from $24 in July to $27.5 in October. But NAND held at $30.6, and SSD exports still surged.
Luke
Right, so price alone can't account for the SSD jump. How much is volume versus price isn't broken out here.
Mark
Is everyone benefiting?
Mimi
No. Small and mid-sized firms grew 10.3%, and their chip exports fell 6.2%. Foundry fell 6.9%.
Luke
And whether U.S. big tech keeps spending is a forecast question. The report names it as a key variable, not a known outcome.
O Pulso
- Chip exports jumped 259% in a single month, with DRAM alone surging nearly 600%, as AI infrastructure buyers scramble for memory that suppliers cannot fully deliver.
- SSD shipments to the United States leapt more than 900%, turning American data center demand into the sharpest pressure point in the whole export picture.
- Small and mid-sized firms managed only 10% growth and their chip exports actually fell, leaving a widening gap between the giants riding the boom and everyone else.
- Foundry exports slipped nearly 7%, a quiet warning that the surge is concentrated in memory rather than spread across the broader semiconductor base.
- Momentum is holding for now, but the trajectory hinges on whether DRAM and NAND prices stay firm and whether U.S. big tech keeps expanding its data centers at this pace.
In October, South Korea sent abroad $70.35 billion worth of information and communications technology goods, a figure that rose more than threefold from a year earlier and marked the first time monthly growth has passed 200% since records began. The surge rests almost entirely on the appetite of artificial intelligence data centers for memory chips and solid-state drives, much of it flowing to American buyers, while the smaller firms that make up the country's broader industrial fabric have grown far more slowly. It is a reminder that a single technological tide can lift some vessels dramatically and leave others nearly where they were, and that the coming months will be shaped by the price of memory and the building plans of a few large American companies.
South Korea shipped $70.35 billion in information and communications technology goods in October, roughly 94 trillion won, more than triple the $23.29 billion of a year earlier. It was the second month running above $70 billion, and the growth rate of 202% cleared a threshold the country's records had never seen before. The figures, released on the 15th by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, have now set a record three months in a row, and ICT goods made up 61% of total exports.
At the center of the story are chips, which reached $56.47 billion and accounted for more than four-fifths of all ICT exports. Memory was the engine. DRAM rose nearly 600% to $33.77 billion as AI infrastructure spending pulled hard against limited supply, and the contract price for 8Gb DRAM climbed from $24 to $27.50 over the summer. Storage showed the data center effect most clearly, with SSD exports up 584% and shipments to the United States alone jumping more than 900%.
The benefits were not evenly shared. Foundry exports fell 6.9%, and small and mid-sized companies, whose ICT exports grew only 10.3%, saw their chip shipments decline. With chips and SSDs together making up about 88% of the total, the outlook depends on memory prices and on how quickly American technology firms continue to build their data centers. For now the boom is powerful but narrow, running at very different speeds across the economy.
South Korea shipped $70.35 billion worth of information and communications technology goods abroad in October, about 94 trillion won. That is 202.0% more than the $23.29 billion recorded a year earlier, and it is the first time since records began that the monthly growth rate has cleared 200%. It is also the second month in a row above $70 billion.
The figures come from the October 2026 ICT Export-Import Trends report, released on the 15th by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Growth has now set a record three months running: 162.6% in August, 195.8% in September, and 202.0% in October. ICT made up 61.0% of South Korea's total October exports of $115.28 billion, roughly 154 trillion won, and has stayed above 60% since August. Imports rose 52.7% to $19.8 billion, leaving a trade surplus of $50.55 billion, or about 67.5 trillion won.
Semiconductors did most of the work. Chip exports reached $56.47 billion, up 259.4%, or about 75.5 trillion won, and accounted for 80.3% of all ICT exports. It was the third straight month of growth above 200%, after 209.0% in August and 262.8% in September. The report attributes this to strong demand for high-performance memory as AI infrastructure spending expands, with demand outrunning supply, especially for DRAM, and memory prices holding firm.
Within chips, memory climbed 360.5% to $50.14 billion. DRAM alone rose 595.3% to $33.77 billion, about 45.1 trillion won. The fixed contract price for 8Gb DRAM went from $24 in July to $27.5 in October, while 128Gb NAND stayed at $30.6. The picture was less even elsewhere: system semiconductors grew 32.5% to $5.66 billion, but foundry exports fell 6.9%.
Storage showed the AI data center effect most sharply. Computers and peripherals rose 439.3% to $5.99 billion, about 8 trillion won, the fastest growth among major categories. SSDs made up about 94% of that, rising 584.3% to $5.64 billion. SSD shipments to the United States alone jumped 922.7% to $3.83 billion.
Other categories moved more modestly. Displays rose 23.6% to $2.03 billion, rebounding after declines in August and September. Mobile phone OLED exports gained 32.5% to $1.21 billion on strong foldable smartphone sales, and laptop OLEDs rose 47.7% to $180 million with new notebook launches. Mobile phone exports grew 6.5% to $1.71 billion on premium models, and telecommunications equipment rose 26.5% to $230 million after a decline the month before.
By destination, the United States stood out. ICT exports there rose 522.4% to $15.56 billion, about 20.8 trillion won, the fourth consecutive month of widening growth after 187.0% in July, 306.4% in August and 420.1% in September. Semiconductors ($10.25 billion, up 734.1%) and computers and peripherals ($3.92 billion, up 766.0%) led, and mobile phones rose 168.2% to $280 million. China including Hong Kong, the largest market, took $27.21 billion, up 213.1% but under September's $30.4 billion; semiconductors there rose 292.0% to $24.46 billion. Taiwan rose 78.6% to $7.64 billion, Vietnam 78.2% to $6.34 billion, the European Union 125.0% to $2.79 billion, India 107.0% to $880 million, and Japan 94.3% to $590 million.
The boom is narrow, though. ICT exports by small and mid-sized companies grew just 10.3% to $5.61 billion, down from 21.7% growth in September, and their semiconductor exports fell 6.2%. With chips and SSDs together about 88% of ICT exports, the direction from here depends on DRAM and NAND prices and on how fast U.S. big tech keeps building data centers. Weak foundry results and the small-company slowdown suggest the recovery is running at different temperatures across sectors and firm sizes.
Citações Notáveis
Demand has outpaced supply, particularly for DRAM, amid expanded AI infrastructure investment, with memory prices firm.— Ministry of Science and ICT and Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy report (paraphrased)
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