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South Korea breaks export record: over 700 billion dollars reached!
Celle, December 30, 2025: South Korea exceeds $700 billion in exports and consolidates its economic position worldwide.
South Korea breaks export record: over 700 billion dollars reached!
A milestone for South Korea: On December 29, 2025 at 1:03 p.m., the country exceeded the $700 billion mark in exports. This remarkable announcement was made by the Korean Customs Service (KCS), which is part of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. This makes South Korea the sixth largest economy to reach this impressive point, after the United States, Germany, China, Japan and the Netherlands, as yna.co.kr reported.
The development of South Korean exports is a success story that dates back to 1948, when exports were only $19 million. Over the last three decades, this amount has changed significantly: 100 billion dollars in 1995, 200 billion in 2004, and the growth continued up to 600 billion in 2018. Today the economy stands on the back of strong export products such as semiconductors, automobiles and biotechnology products.
Strong export performance despite challenges
Despite global tariff burdens and protectionist tendencies, South Korea's export economy held out hope and fought its way through. There was a decline in exports during the first half of the year, but there was a notable recovery in the second half of the year. This was not only a relief for the South Korean economy, but also a contribution to the creation of new jobs and the overall growth dynamic.
The South Korean state has high hopes for future reforms in the processing sector in order to further increase exports. Next year, the government is again aiming to exceed the $700 billion mark while attracting more than $35 billion in foreign investment.
Current export trends and challenges
Of particular note is the increase in exports of electronic equipment components, which rose an impressive 86% to $17 billion. In contrast, battery exports suffered a 17% decline, indicating various issues in the industry. The shipping industry was also on the rise, with an increase of 18% to $25.6 billion.
- Halbleiter: +44% auf 18% der Gesamtexporte
- Komponenten elektronische Geräten: +86% auf 17 Mrd. USD
- Seeverkehrsindustrie: +18% auf 25,6 Mrd. USD
- Batterien: -17% auf 8,2 Mrd. USD
China remains South Korea's largest trading partner, with exports there rising 6.6% to $133 billion. Exports with the USA also rose by 10.5% to $128 billion. The trade surplus was $52 billion in 2024, the highest since 2018.
Conclusion and look into the future
With the steady increase in export numbers, South Korea shows that it has a good hand for international business. The challenges posed by the global economy are undeniable, but South Korea's export economy remains future-oriented and well positioned. The government's ambitious plans to attract foreign investment and promote exports could set the country on a further path to success, it is expected for the coming years unctadstat.unctad.org. By continually adapting to market conditions and exploring new business opportunities, the South Korean economy is poised to continue to compete globally.