South Korea's exports rose nearly 17 percent on-year in the first 20 days of February.  

According to tentative data from the Korea Customs Service on Monday, the country's outbound shipments stood at 30-point-four billion U.S. dollars in the cited period, up 16-point-seven percent from a year earlier.

Compared to the same period last year, working days were down by one-point-five this year. Given the fall, the daily average exports grew by 29-point-two percent during the period. 

Shipments of semiconductors and telecommunications devices rose 27-point-five percent and 33-point-six percent, respectively, on-year. Exports of petroleum products fell five-point-seven percent. 

Shipments to China and the United States rose 32-point-seven percent and 14 percent, each, while exports to the Middle East and Singapore slipped 31-point-three percent and 21 percent, respectively.