South Korea's Ministry of Science, Technology, and Information and Communications reported that the nation's information and communication technology (ICT) industry experienced a severe decline in export value during the first half of the year. According to Yonhap News Agency, the export value was $84.95 billion, plunging by 30.6% compared to the previous year.
The semiconductor industry is a cornerstone of the Korean economy. However, the global oversupply of chips in 2022 has increased pressure on the country's inventory. In the first half of the year, semiconductor exports, which held the largest proportion of exports, plummeted by 36.8% to $43.93 billion compared to the same period last year. Memory chip exports experienced the sharpest drop at 49.7%, while other major ICT products, including system LSI semiconductors, shrank by 17.5%.
The deterioration was widespread across major Korean ICT products due to Korean companies withdrawing from the LCD business and declining demand for TVs, smartphones, and other devices. LCD panel exports fell by 40.5% in the first half of the year, OLED panels contracted by 23.3%, and mobile phone exports declined by 36.3%.
South Korea's ICT exports also suffered across all countries and regions, with significant decreases of 36.5% to China, 31.2% to the United States, 27.0% to the European Union, and 22.8% to Vietnam. Exports to Japan declined by a smaller margin at 12.2%.
Focusing on June alone, South Korea's ICT exports fell by 22.1% from the same month last year to $16.06 billion, marking the 12th consecutive month of shrinkage. Semiconductor exports dropped by 27.9%, extending their 11-month decline, while panel and mobile phone exports fell by 11.1% and 18.8% respectively.
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