South Korea's exports rose 60% in the first 20 days of June, with chip exports soaring 188.4%.

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Demand for AI chips continues to surge, and South Korea’s export data has once again exceeded market expectations.

On June 22, South Korea’s customs released data showing that exports in the first 20 days of June increased by 49.7% year-on-year (after adjusting for working days), continuing the strong momentum of May’s 52.6% growth during the same period.

Without working day adjustment, exports grew by 60.4% under the original calculation, imports increased by 23.2%, and the trade surplus for the month recorded $17.5 billion.

What’s driving all this is still chips.

Semiconductor exports skyrocketed by 188.4% year-on-year, and exports of computer-related products soared by 293.3%. The logic behind this is straightforward: global tech giants are pouring money into building AI data centers, and South Korea is the world’s most important supplier of memory chips. This surge in the AI arms race has directly boosted South Korea’s export ledger.

South Korea’s exports have achieved year-on-year growth for 12 consecutive months, with semiconductors being the main driver in nearly every statistical cycle.

Worries amid chip boom: Korea’s central bank starts to get headaches

The export data is impressive, but Korea’s central bank is becoming less relaxed.

Last week, the governor of Korea’s central bank, Shin Hyun Song, said in a press conference that the chip boom is complicating the outlook for inflation. His logic: Tech giants like Samsung and SK Hynix are awarding record year-end bonuses, and once this money flows into the consumer market, it could push up overall wages and expand consumer spending.

He also pointed out, "The benefits from chip expansion are increasingly spreading through stronger corporate profits, consumption, and investment into the overall economy."

The problem is, while this spread brings growth, it also brings inflationary pressure. In May, South Korea’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 3.1% year-on-year, the fastest pace in more than two years, further solidifying the central bank’s hawkish stance.

Rising oil prices, a weakening won, and resilient economic activity—these three factors have converged, and South Korea’s central bank has clearly shifted toward tightening in recent months.

Chip exports have supported Korea’s economic growth, boosted tax revenue, and propped up asset prices. But as this boom starts to spill over into wages and prices, the central bank’s room for maneuver narrows.

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