South Korea's exports nearly doubled in October, rising 93.7% from a year earlier to $115.28 billion, the strongest annual growth since January 1974, according to trade data released on 1 November. The surge was powered by semiconductors, with overseas chip sales jumping 259.4% to $56.44 billion.

The figures, published by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, beat the median 93.2% rise forecast by economists in a Reuters poll. Chip exports accounted for nearly half of all outbound shipments and topped $50 billion for a second consecutive month, after a record $60.3 billion in September.

The boom reflects surging global demand for memory chips as big technology firms race to build artificial intelligence infrastructure. South Korea is home to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, the world's two largest memory-chip makers, and its trade figures are watched as an early read on the global chip cycle.

Cumulative exports for the first ten months of 2026 reached $930 billion, the first time the country has passed $900 billion in that period, putting annual shipments on course to top $1 trillion in November. October's trade surplus stood at $42.5 billion, above $40 billion for a second straight month.

The headline figures were flattered by calendar effects, with more working days in October than a year earlier because of the timing of the Chuseok holidays, and the ministry's data showed the increase was smaller once adjusted for working days. Even so, investors welcomed the numbers: South Korea's KOSPI index rose 2.24% on Monday 2 November, with Samsung up 1.78% and SK Hynix up 3.81%.