Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) of the Republic of Korea announced on March 16 that Korea’s exports and imports of information and communications technology (ICT) goods for February 2025 climbed 1.2 percent and 5.6 percent, respectively, to USD 16.7 billion and $10.9 billion. The trade balance stood at a surplus of $5.8 billion.

February exports achieved a rebound from the downtick in January and came in second highest for the month, with mobile phones (up 33.3 percent), computers/peripherals (up 26.9 percent), and communications devices (up 74.1 percent) softening the fall from semiconductors (down 3.0 percent) and displays (down 5.1 percent).

Semiconductor exports suffered a slight dip despite the sound performance of high value-added memory chips like high-bandwidth memory chips (HBMs) and DDR5s as general-purpose memory chips like NAND flash dropped in both unit price and production volume. 

Displays receded as a result of panel display oversupply and sluggish demand for home appliances in Korea’s major export market. Meanwhile, mobile phone exports increased on the backs of growing demand for parts from overseas production bases in regions such as China, Vietnam, and India.

Computers/peripherals enjoyed growth, thanks to stronger demand for storage devices fueled by wider investments in servers and datacenters in the U.S. and the EU. Communications devices exports were led by rising demand for navigation auxiliary equipment in India.

By destination, ICT exports to Vietnam (up 15.6 percent), the U.S. (up 11.5 percent), and Taiwan (up 124.3 percent), and India (up 54.9 percent) expanded, whereas those to China (including Hong Kong) (down 19.6 percent), the EU (down 7.6 percent), and Japan (down 5.7 percent) contracted.