South Korea’s chip trade surplus reached a record approximately $35 billion in June, more than doubling from a year earlier, while the surplus for non-chip products was only about $1 billion. AI-driven demand is supporting a sharp acceleration in exports: semiconductor shipments rose 198.8% year over year in the first 20 days of August, while computer-related exports increased 242.1%. Overall exports grew 61.5% during the period, following a 62.9% increase in July and marking the second consecutive month of growth above 60%.