South Korea’s information and communications technology (ICT) exports reached $70.35 billion in October 2026, up 202.0% from $23.29 billion a year earlier, according to the “October 2026 ICT Trade Trends” report from the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, reported on 15 November 2026. That is roughly three times the October 2025 level and the largest October on record, driven by semiconductor shipments tied to AI infrastructure demand.
What the official October figures say
The reported headline numbers for October 2026, all year on year:
- ICT exports: $70.35 billion, up 202.0%. This is the first time ICT export growth has exceeded 200%.
- ICT imports: $19.8 billion, up 52.7%, leaving an ICT trade surplus of $50.55 billion.
- Semiconductors: $56.47 billion, up 259.4%, or 80.3% of ICT exports. Memory chips were $50.14 billion, up 360.5%, and DRAM alone was $33.77 billion, up 595.3%.
- Computers and peripherals: $5.99 billion, up 439.3%, of which solid-state drives were $5.64 billion, up 584.3%.
- Displays: $2.03 billion, up 23.6%. Mobile phones: $1.71 billion, up 6.5%.
- ICT share of total goods exports: 61.0% of $115.28 billion, above 60% for a third straight month.
Is October a record, and does it triple?
The “triple” framing holds on the arithmetic: $70.35 billion is about 3.02 times $23.29 billion. The “record” needs a qualifier. October is the largest October on record, but it is not the highest month. September 2026 ICT exports were $75.15 billion, up 195.8%, which the same ministries described as an all-time monthly record, and September semiconductor exports were $60.33 billion. October therefore sits below September in absolute terms while posting the fastest year-on-year growth rate of the series.
Where the shipments went
The United States took $15.56 billion of ICT exports, up 522.4%, with chip exports to the U.S. up 734.1% and SSD exports to the U.S. at $3.83 billion. China including Hong Kong remained the largest market at $27.21 billion, up 213.1%. Taiwan received $7.64 billion and Vietnam $6.34 billion. Gains were concentrated: ICT exports of small and mid-sized firms rose 10.3% to $5.61 billion, and their semiconductor exports fell 6.2%, while foundry shipments fell 6.9% as system chips grew 32.5%.
The wider trade release for October, reported on 1 November 2026, put total Korean goods exports at a record $115.3 billion, up 93.7%, with the trade ministry citing strong global chip demand and continued investment by major technology companies in AI infrastructure.
Prices: what is and is not reported
The ICT report cites the price of 8Gb DRAM at $27.5 in October, up from $24 in July, and 128Gb NAND flash at $30.6, up from $30.1. Those are price points for specific memory products, and the export surge combines higher volumes with higher prices. The reporting does not break the $70.35 billion into volume and price effects, so any split between the two is an inference, not a published figure.
What this may mean for research institutions
The figures describe exports, not what research buyers pay or wait for, so the points below are interpretation rather than reported fact.
- Memory is the demand center. With memory chips about 71% of Korean ICT exports in October ($50.14 billion of $70.35 billion) and DRAM prices rising, institutions buying servers, GPU nodes or storage may see quotes and lead times move with the memory market. Request validity periods and component-substitution terms in quotes.
- Large AI buyers are absorbing supply. The U.S. data shows computers and SSDs shipping in volume toward AI infrastructure; research groups buying at much smaller scale compete for the same components.
- Shared allocations become more valuable. Where on-site capacity is costly, national allocation programmes can reduce exposure to hardware pricing; see how to request an NSF ACCESS compute allocation and how national allocations compare with campus recharge models. For Canada, see the Digital Research Alliance of Canada.
- Budgeting and policy exposure. Equipment line items on grants may need contingency, and chip-level oversight is a live policy theme; see research infrastructure funding programs and compute governance and export controls.
One month of export data does not forecast research-computing prices. Offices planning hardware purchases should watch the November and December releases and supplier quotes rather than treating October as a trend.
Sources
- DigitalToday, “October ICT exports hit record $70.35 billion, AI semiconductors drive growth”, reporting the Ministry of Science and ICT and Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy “October 2026 ICT Trade Trends” report, 2026-11-15: digitaltoday.co.kr (checked 2026-11-15)
- Seoul Economic Daily, “Korea’s October ICT exports triple on record chip surge”, 2026-11-15: en.sedaily.com (checked 2026-11-15)
- The Korea Herald (Yonhap), “S. Korea’s monthly exports hit $115.3b in Oct. on strong chip sales”, 2026-11-01: koreaherald.com (checked 2026-11-15)
- Korea.net, September 2026 ICT exports, 2026-10-15: korea.net (checked 2026-11-15)
