Why South Korea Is Staging A K-Shaped Economic Recovery

2026-01-05 02:52:00 ET

By Min Joo Kang, Senior Economist, South Korea and Japan

December exports accelerated thanks to strong demand for Korean IT products

South Korean exports rose a greater-than-expected 13.4% year-on-year in December (vs 8.4% in November, 8.5% market consensus). Of the 15 main export products, six increased. IT exports were particularly strong. Semiconductors rose the most -- by 43.2% -- thanks to robust demand for AI data centres and strong pricing. Other IT products, such as mobile devices (24.7%), computers (36.7%), and displays (0.8%), all increased. Yet autos, petrochemicals, steel, home appliances, and batteries declined. Automotive exports declined by 1.5% due to increased overseas production and temporary product cuts during line maintenance. Steel and petrochemicals continued to decline due to global oversupply and soft prices. Though not major export categories, newly emerging sectors -- primarily K-culture-related products such as food, bio-health, and cosmetics -- posted steady increases....

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