Powered by strong shipments of semiconductor chips, display panels, and mobile phone, exports of Korean ICT products surged by 21.6% from a year ago in the first 6 months to hit US$103.4 billion.

The export figure is the second-highest ever scored in the first half, following those in the first half of 2018. 

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy, exports of semiconductor chips jumped by 21.3% year-on-year to reach US$57.51, accounting for more than half of the total exports.

The surge is mainly attributed to jumps in the average selling prices of DRAM and NAND flash chips as well as booking sales of system ICs.

Exports of display panels also sky-rocketed by 38% to hit US$10.78, mainly due to surges in the unit prices of LCDs as well as explosive sales of OLEDs.

Overseas shipments of mobile phones surged by 33.3% to US$6.47, mainly led by booming demand for high-end premium smart phones.

Exports of computers and PC peripherals surged by 6.2% to US$7.31 billion, mainly power by strong shipments of PCs, which grew by 15.3% to reach US$1.04 billion.

By country, shipments to China were spectacular, representing almost half of the total ICT exports. Korea shipped US$48.67 billion worth of ICT products to China, including Hong Kong, 18.8% up from a year ago.

Exports of Vietnam grew by 20.2% to hit US$15.05, as Vietnam has been becoming an assembly  and production hub for Korean ICT products.

Korean offshore assembly factories in Vietnam are importing tons of electronic parts and components to assembly them into finished products.

Exports of ICT products to the U.S. hit US$12.75, a whopping 20.1% jump from a year ago.