By Kim Eun-young and Yoon Hee Young

The Ministry of Science and ICT on March 15 said exports of information and communication technology (ICT) products last month jumped 11.5% from the same month a year ago to USD 15.28 billion (KRW 17 trillion).

The amount was the second highest in February since 2018 and marked its ninth consecutive month of growth.

The biggest market was China (including Hong Kong) with USD 7.02 billion, up 13.6%, followed by the U.S. (up 6.7%) and the European Union (up 14%). Exports to Vietnam and Japan, however, declined 0.8% and 4.3% respectively.

Semiconductors and displays led the overall rise in ICT exports.

Shipments of semiconductors last month rose 12.5% to USD 8.44 billion, with memory chips growing 12.6% and system semiconductors 13.2% due to the continued surge in demand thanks to global economic recovery.

The rise in the unit price of LCDs and higher demand for premium smartphones fueled growth of OLED exports. This, in turn, led to a 22.3% increase in display exports to USD 1.62 billion.

ICT imports last month rose 19.3% to USD 9.19 billion, thus the sector posted a current account surplus of USD 6.09 billion.

eykim86@korea.kr