South Korea's exports in early March reached a record $21.5 billion, surging 55.6% from a year earlier, customs data showed Tuesday.
Imports rose 21.7% to $19.4 billion during the March 1-10 period, resulting in a trade surplus of $2.1 billion, according to preliminary figures released by the Korea Customs Service.
Semiconductors led the export boom, jumping 175.9% to $7.6 billion over the 10-day period—also a record. Chips accounted for 35.3% of total exports, up 15.4 percentage points from a year ago.
Other strong performers included computer peripherals, which soared 372.1%, petroleum products up 44.1%, and passenger vehicles gaining 13.9%. Ship exports fell 61.9%.
On the import side, semiconductors climbed 53.5% and chip manufacturing equipment rose 10.4%. Crude oil imports declined 1.4% while natural gas fell 6.4%.