South Korea's exports expanded by more than five percent in June compared to the same period last year, marking nine consecutive months of growth. 

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Monday, the country’s outbound shipments stood at 57 billion U.S. dollars in June, up five-point-one percent from a year earlier.

Shipments increased for six out of 15 key export items, such as semiconductors, which jumped over 50 percent on-year to reach a monthly high of 13-point-42 billion dollars.

Exports to the United States grew 14-point-seven percent on-year to over eleven billion dollars, the largest figure for June, while shipments to China rose one-point-eight percent to ten-point-seven billion dollars, posting growth for the fourth consecutive month.

However, imports slipped seven-and-a-half percent on-year to post 49 billion dollars, resulting in a trade surplus of eight billion dollars, the largest since September 2020, and the 13th consecutive month of surplus.

In the first half of the year, the country’s exports grew nine-point-one percent on-year to 334-point-eight billion dollars, with chip exports soaring 52-point-two percent on-year to 65-point-seven billion dollars.