South Korea's exports accelerated in February, reinforcing the central bank's view that solid semiconductor demand is helping cushion the economy as it maintains a neutral policy stance while monitoring financial stability risks.
The value of shipments adjusted for working-day differences increased 49.3% from a year earlier, according to data released Sunday by the trade ministry. That compared with a revised 34% gain for the full month of January.
Unadjusted exports climbed 29% and overall imports rose by 7.5%, resulting in a trade surplus of $15.5 billion.
February data remained robust despite the Lunar New Year holiday falling within the reporting period, which reduced the number of working days. Economists typically look to average daily shipments or working-day adjusted figures to strip out those distortions and gauge the underlying pace of trade.
Early data showed that February exports surged more than 47%, a sign companies rushed to front-load shipments ahead of the holidays. Back-to-back months of strong trade figures augurs well for South Korea's economy, with overseas sales accounting for about 40% of gross domestic product.
Semiconductor shipments remained the primary driver, advancing almost 161% amid sustained global investment in AI infrastructure and data centers. Auto exports fell nearly 21%, weighed by fewer working days due to the holiday, while shipments of wireless communication products increased 12.7%. Both shipments of steel and petrochemical products declined 7.8% and 15.4%, respectively, mainly due to a global supply glut.
By destination, shipments to China rose 34.1%, exports to the US increased almost 30%, and those to the European Union gained 10.3%.
The data also highlight that South Korea's export engine remains resilient even in the face of fresh uncertainty over America's trade policy. The US Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump's tariffs imposed under emergency powers, but a 10% global levy remains in effect until Trump signs a directive raising it to 15%, leaving the effective ceiling on Korean goods largely unchanged. Sector-specific duties on autos and steel also remain in place under a separate framework.
For Seoul, trade tensions with Washington have risen since January after Trump threatened to raise tariffs on Korean goods to 25%, arguing that Seoul's legislature has yet to fully codify last year's trade agreement that capped duties at 15%.
The sustained export strength comes days after the Bank of Korea left its benchmark rate unchanged at 2.5%, and signaled through a newly introduced six-month forward guidance that policymakers do not expect to alter policy under their baseline outlook.
The central bank raised its 2026 growth outlook to 2% from 1.8% and nudged up its inflation forecast to 2.2%, while noting that chip exports are sustaining economic activity even as non-tech sectors lag. Semiconductors and IT manufacturing alone are projected to contribute about 0.7 percentage point to overall growth.
While Governor Rhee Chang Yong said financial stability risks from the currency and housing markets are expected to remain for some time, recent data have reduced pressure for fresh easing. Consumer prices rose 2% in January, in line with the target, while the won has stabilized after a bout of volatility late last year. Seoul apartment price gains have also slowed, easing immediate financial stability concerns.
Strong February trade data may further reinforce the central bank's conditional hold as policymakers balance sectoral divergence with still-contained inflation pressures.