According to a report “Mythology of Semiconductor Exports and Cross-national Comparison of Export Competitiveness” released by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) on September 13, semiconductors accounted for 16 percent of the country’s total exports.

In particular, the KITA said South Korea's semiconductor exports are expected to exceed US$90 billion (101.5 trillion won) this year, which is much higher than last year. This is because outbound shipments of computer chips surged 52 percent on-year to US$59.5 billion (67.15 trillion won) from January to August this year.

This year, semiconductors took up nearly half of the nation’s total trade surplus, contributing to maintain a stable international balance of payments. In particular, computer chips maintained the number one spot in terms of export item 21 times after 1992. A semiconductor, which is a technology intensive product, plays a crucial role in raising South Korea’s national credit rating and improving the competitiveness of its IT products.

South Korea has a 57 percent share in the global memory semiconductor market as of 2016, maintaining the dominant position. Taking a look at Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA), South Korea is improving the technical skills of memory semiconductors along with China and Taiwan. However, the export similarity index between South Korea and China rose, while that between South Korea and Japan and that with the US each dropped. In short, the technological gap between South Korea and China rapidly decreased.

The report said that the country has made "pre-emptive" investments in research and development to raise its technical levels and secured the export market with efficient semiconductor production. This has helped drive up the demand for Korean chips and boosted chipmakers' bottom line. In addition, the export price of DRAM chips had been more than doubled from US$1.54 (1,743 won) per unit in 2002 to US$3.45 (3,906 won) in July this year. This is largely due to the fact that South Korea has developed advanced semiconductor technologies.

Moon Byung-ki, a senior researcher at the KITA, said, “The number of South Korea’s semiconductor patents is on the decrease, while China is making massive investment in the semiconductor sector. The industry should continuously make investment in system semiconductors as well as memory semiconductors and create a new growth engine through the partnerships with the academic community and the government in the future.”

By: DocMemory
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