(Bloomberg) — South Korea’s exports maintained growth momentum in January, keeping optimism alive at the start of a year overshadowed by domestic political turmoil and Donald Trump’s tariff threat.
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The value of shipments adjusted for working-day differences increased 7.7% from a year earlier, according to data released Saturday by the customs office. That compared with a 4.3% gain initially reported for December.
In headline figures distorted by the Lunar New Year holiday, exports fell 10.3%, less than the 14% contraction surveyed by Bloomberg. Overall imports decreased by 6.4%, resulting in a trade deficit of $1.9 billion.
South Korea is one of the world’s biggest exporters, with technology products at the core of its earnings. Trump’s tariff threats have posed a severe risk for the trade-reliant economy.
Semiconductors are the driving force behind South Korea’s exports and its producers including Samsung Electronics Co. face restrictions on shipments to China as Washington seeks to prevent Beijing from acquiring advanced devices needed to fuel artificial intelligence development.
South Korean chip exports in January rose 8.1% from a year earlier, according to the Trade Ministry. Despite it being the 15th month of increased shipments, the slowing growth added to evidence that momentum is flagging in a sign of weakening demand for memory chips.
On Friday, Samsung’s chip division reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly profit while domestic rival SK Hynix Inc.’s shares plunged, in part on concerns that DeepSeek’s low-cost AI would lead to sharp cuts in spending on data centers and state-of-the-art chips.
South Korean chipmakers also face fresh headwinds stemming from Trump’s return to power. Howard Lutnick, the US president’s commerce secretary nominee, told US senators earlier this week that his administration would review subsidies promised for foreign chipmakers under the Biden administration.
Trump, sworn in as president for a second term last month, has also threatened varying levels of tariffs for trading partners. Among key issues are widening deficits the US is recording with export giants including China and Mexico. South Korea ranks eighth among countries with the largest surpluses against the US.
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