Svmuu News: A South Korean government-affiliated think tank said Wednesday that the South Korean economy remains on a recovery track, with the boom in the chip industry offsetting the slowdown in the manufacturing sector as a whole. The Korea Development Institute (KDI) noted in its monthly economic assessment report that South Korea’s exports continue to expand “strongly,” driven by robust demand for artificial intelligence-related products. In June alone, South Korea’s exports surpassed the $100 billion mark for the first time, reaching $102.25 billion—a 70.9% year-over-year increase—and setting a new record high.
The KDI stated, “Although the growth rate of semiconductor export volumes has slowed somewhat, export value remains strong, supported by continued price increases.” Driven by surging demand for memory chips, semiconductor export value nearly tripled to $44.82 billion, marking the first time monthly exports exceeded $40 billion. However, the KDI noted that manufacturing output declined slightly as “the rapid growth momentum seen earlier in the semiconductor sector has slowed, while other sectors remain sluggish.” The KDI added that high oil prices and the weakening of the South Korean won against the U.S. dollar may “continue to exert upward pressure on prices, increasing the risk of further interest rate hikes, which could in turn hamper the recovery in consumer spending.” (Jin Shi)