Thanks to strong semiconductor exports... the country's exports of ICT products has been growing for 26 consecutive months through December last year.<br />Kim Hyesung has the details. <br />Korea's exports of information and communication technology products hit an all-time high in 2018.<br />The trade ministry says a total of 220-point-four billion U.S. dollars worth of ICT products were shipped overseas, up more than 11 percent on-year. <br />Semiconductors were the top item. Exports soared to 128 billion dollars last year, up more than 28 percent from 2017.<br />Computers and related devices were up 17 percent, recording over 11 billion dollars of exports. <br />2018 marked the first time Korea's semiconductors became the first single goods category to top 100 billion dollars in exports... but data shows a slowdown in semiconductor export growth. <br />In the first half of 2018, chip exports grew by 42 percent on-year, while in the second half they only grew by about 18 percent. <br />In December, chip exports actually dropped 10 percent on-year to 16 billion dollars on falling demand and lower prices.<br />In 2018 as a whole, ICT exports to China, South Korea's number one trading partner, jumped 14 percent to 119 billion dollars. <br />Exports to Vietnam gained 8 percent to 28 billion dollars, and ICT shipments to the United States climbed 13 percent to around 21 billion dollars.<br />Imports reached a little over 107 billion dollars last year, giving Korea an information and technology trade surplus of 113-point-three billion dollars, also the highest on record so far. <br />Kim Hyesung, Arirang News. <br />
