SEOUL, KOREA - Korea’s ICT exports reached an all-time high level at US$41.2 billion in the first quarter of this year, exceeding the $40-billion level for the first time in history. In the ICT category, the nation’s trade surplus also hit record high at $20.5 billion.
The nation’s ICT exports and trade surplus amounted to $38.7 billion and $19.5 billion, respectively, in the first quarter of the previous year.
According to the Ministry of Science, ICT, and Future Planning and the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy, the nation’s ICT shipments for March 2014 stood at $14.9 billion, up 8.9 percent year on year. The nation’s ICT imports grew 10.3 percent to $7.4 billion in March, leading to a trade surplus of $7.5 billion. This figure is about 1.8 times higher than the nation’s overall trade surplus of $4.19 billion.
The strong ICT performance was led mainly by the areas of mobile phones, semiconductors, and digital TVs. In particular, the nation’s mobile phone exports rose 30.3 percent to $2.4 billion last month, thanks to the Galaxy S5 new launch effect.