Semiconductor devices, including solar cells and LEDs: South Korea exports and imports
HS 8541 · 반도체 디바이스(예: 다이오드ㆍ트랜지스터ㆍ반도체 기반 트랜스듀서), 감광성 반도체 디바이스(광전지는 모듈에 조립되었거나 패널로 구성되었는지 여부와 관계없이 포함한다), 발광다이오드[(엘이디), 다른 발광다이오드와 결합되었는지 여부과 관계없이 포함한다], 장착된 압전기 결정소자 · latest month: October 2026
In October 2026, South Korea exported $392.3 million of semiconductor devices, including solar cells and LEDs (HS 8541), down 19.0% from September 2026 and up 36.3% from October 2025.
Over the 12 months to October 2026, exports of semiconductor devices, including solar cells and LEDs (HS 8541) totalled $4.24 billion, up 23.6% from the 12 months before ($3.43 billion).
The largest destination over the 12 months to October 2026 was the United States ($959.3 million, 22.6% of the total), followed by Vietnam and China.
That was 0.9% of South Korea's exports under HS chapter 85 (electrical machinery and electronics) over the same 12 months.
Imports in October 2026 were $352.5 million (down 8.8% from October 2025), leaving a surplus of $39.8 million for the month.
Official description of HS 8541: Semiconductor devices (for example, diodes, transistors, semiconductor-based transducers); photosensitive semiconductor devices, including photovoltaic cells whether or not assembled in modules or made up into panels; light-emitting diodes (LED), whether or not assembled with other light-emitting diodes (LED); mounted piezo-electric crystals.
Last 24 months
Subheadings under HS 8541
| Code | Product | Exports, 12 months | Share | vs 12 months before | October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8541.10 | Diodes, other than photosensitive or light-emitting diodes (LED) | $321.8M | 7.6% | +7.9% | $31.5M |
| 8541.10.1000 | Chips, dice and wafers not yet cut into chips | $67.0M | 20.8% | +4.8% | $6.4M |
| 8541.10.9000 | Other | $254.8M | 79.2% | +8.7% | $25.2M |
| 8541.21 | With a dissipation rate of less than 1 W | $256.0M | 6.0% | -12.0% | $19.9M |
| 8541.21.1000 | Chips, dice and wafers not yet cut into chips | $141.5M | 55.3% | -9.7% | $11.3M |
| 8541.21.9000 | Other | $114.5M | 44.7% | -14.7% | $8.5M |
| 8541.29 | Other | $1.42B | 33.6% | +33.1% | $158.3M |
| 8541.29.1000 | Chips, dice and wafers not yet cut into chips | $1.16B | 81.5% | +40.2% | $133.5M |
| 8541.29.9000 | Other | $263.1M | 18.5% | +8.8% | $24.8M |
| 8541.30 | Thyristors, diacs and triacs, other than photosensitive devices | $6.0M | 0.1% | -10.2% | $235K |
| 8541.30.1000 | Chips, dice and wafers not yet cut into chips | $326K | 5.5% | +32.2% | $8,230 |
| 8541.30.2000 | Thyristors | $4.7M | 79.3% | -15.8% | $172K |
| 8541.30.3000 | Diacs | $278K | 4.7% | -16.3% | $16K |
| 8541.30.4000 | Triacs | $635K | 10.6% | +41.1% | $39K |
| 8541.41 | Light-emitting diodes (LED) | $279.5M | 6.6% | -10.0% | $30.1M |
| 8541.41.1000 | Laser devices | $20.3M | 7.2% | +22.6% | $2.1M |
| 8541.41.9000 | Other | $259.2M | 92.8% | -11.9% | $27.9M |
| 8541.42 | Photovoltaic cells not assembled in modules or made up into panels | $836.0M | 19.7% | +117.2% | $48.0M |
| 8541.43 | Photovoltaic cells assembled in modules or made up into panels | $133.5M | 3.1% | +201.1% | $29.4M |
| 8541.49 | Other | $457.4M | 10.8% | -29.9% | $27.6M |
| 8541.49.1000 | Chips, dice and wafers not yet cut into chips | $77.9M | 17.0% | -26.2% | $4.1M |
| 8541.49.2000 | Photoconductive cells | $871K | 0.2% | -40.7% | $70K |
| 8541.49.3000 | Charge coupled devices (CCD) | $304.8M | 66.6% | -35.1% | $17.1M |
| 8541.49.9000 | Other | $73.8M | 16.1% | -2.4% | $6.3M |
| 8541.51 | Semiconductor-based transducers | $55.3M | 1.3% | +280.3% | $4.3M |
| 8541.51.1000 | Sensors | $52.0M | 94.1% | +368.3% | $4.0M |
| 8541.51.2000 | Actuator | $884K | 1.6% | -43.4% | $159K |
| 8541.51.3000 | Resonators | $23K | 0.0% | -84.4% | $15K |
| 8541.51.4000 | Oscillators | $2.4M | 4.3% | +36.8% | $97K |
| 8541.59 | Other | $253.6M | 6.0% | +37.5% | $22.5M |
| 8541.59.1000 | Chips, dice and wafers not yet cut into chips | $228.5M | 90.1% | +42.9% | $20.9M |
| 8541.59.9000 | Other | $25.1M | 9.9% | +2.7% | $1.6M |
| 8541.60 | Mounted piezo-electric crystals | $95.6M | 2.3% | +24.6% | $9.0M |
| 8541.60.1000 | Crystal vibrator | $56.1M | 58.7% | +24.4% | $6.0M |
| 8541.60.9000 | Other | $39.5M | 41.3% | +25.0% | $3.0M |
| 8541.90 | Parts | $118.5M | 2.8% | +24.9% | $11.5M |
| 8541.90.2000 | Of diodes | $9.9M | 8.4% | -4.2% | $715K |
| 8541.90.3000 | Of transistors | $16.3M | 13.7% | +33.6% | $1.7M |
| 8541.90.9000 | Other | $92.3M | 77.9% | +27.6% | $9.1M |
Six-digit codes are international; the indented ten-digit codes are South Korea's own subdivision. These rows are world totals; "Share" is the share of the row above.
Top destinations
Export value over the 12 months to October 2026. 143 countries received this product from South Korea in the last 24 months; the table shows the largest 20.
| Rank | Country | Exports, 12 months | Share | vs 12 months before | Rank before | October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | $959.3M | 22.6% | +107.9% | 3 | $72.9M |
| 2 | Vietnam | $876.1M | 20.7% | -7.7% | 1 | $57.1M |
| 3 | China | $818.5M | 19.3% | -11.0% | 2 | $71.1M |
| 4 | Philippines | $373.7M | 8.8% | +20.1% | 4 | $29.5M |
| 5 | Taiwan | $340.3M | 8.0% | +560.6% | 8 | $86.4M |
| 6 | Japan | $192.6M | 4.5% | -14.5% | 5 | $9.2M |
| 7 | Hong Kong | $140.3M | 3.3% | +12.1% | 6 | $14.6M |
| 8 | Thailand | $97.0M | 2.3% | +1.7% | 7 | $8.3M |
| 9 | Malaysia | $71.4M | 1.7% | +42.2% | 9 | $5.9M |
| 10 | Singapore | $62.9M | 1.5% | +76.1% | 11 | $4.2M |
| 11 | Angola | $58.4M | 1.4% | +962.5% | 17 | $9.9M |
| 12 | India | $55.2M | 1.3% | +43.5% | 10 | $6.4M |
| 13 | Mexico | $50.0M | 1.2% | +78.8% | 14 | $5.4M |
| 14 | Poland | $33.2M | 0.8% | -6.3% | 12 | $3.6M |
| 15 | Germany | $33.1M | 0.8% | +6.1% | 13 | $2.3M |
| 16 | Indonesia | $9.6M | 0.2% | +5.2% | 16 | $697K |
| 17 | United Kingdom | $7.2M | 0.2% | -26.9% | 15 | $183K |
| 18 | Israel | $5.4M | 0.1% | +126.3% | 23 | $536K |
| 19 | Czechia | $5.2M | 0.1% | +12.9% | 18 | $516K |
| 20 | Türkiye | $4.5M | 0.1% | +21.7% | 20 | $325K |
Countries are linked when exports of this product to them reached $5,000,000 over 24 months.
Monthly figures
| Month | Exports | vs year earlier | Export weight | Export $/kg | Imports | Import weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2026 | $392.3M | +36.3% | 7,545 t | $51.99 | $352.5M | 20,523 t |
| September 2026 | $484.5M | +56.9% | 7,940 t | $61.01 | $351.8M | 14,114 t |
| August 2026 | $372.2M | +45.6% | 5,162 t | $72.11 | $299.3M | 10,848 t |
| July 2026 | $377.8M | +37.7% | 3,347 t | $112.87 | $331.8M | 12,710 t |
| June 2026 | $346.5M | +32.7% | 1,761 t | $196.71 | $359.2M | 14,278 t |
| May 2026 | $318.0M | +10.6% | 1,923 t | $165.35 | $316.4M | 14,965 t |
| April 2026 | $307.4M | -4.9% | 4,398 t | $69.89 | $395.1M | 30,252 t |
| March 2026 | $297.4M | +5.8% | 3,058 t | $97.26 | $419.9M | 38,183 t |
| February 2026 | $295.8M | +9.6% | 3,073 t | $96.24 | $300.6M | 20,352 t |
| January 2026 | $328.2M | +16.1% | 3,489 t | $94.07 | $324.5M | 18,636 t |
| December 2025 | $316.1M | +9.8% | 2,937 t | $107.62 | $377.3M | 36,026 t |
| November 2025 | $401.1M | +30.1% | 3,991 t | $100.49 | $407.6M | 22,438 t |
| October 2025 | $287.9M | -15.4% | 3,294 t | $87.38 | $386.6M | 21,994 t |
| September 2025 | $308.7M | +3.0% | 1,725 t | $178.94 | $462.6M | 25,848 t |
| August 2025 | $255.6M | -17.1% | 2,598 t | $98.39 | $378.8M | 13,095 t |
| July 2025 | $274.4M | -16.0% | 1,074 t | $255.39 | $386.6M | 17,981 t |
| June 2025 | $261.0M | -15.1% | 2,034 t | $128.32 | $381.8M | 17,975 t |
| May 2025 | $287.6M | -1.5% | 3,170 t | $90.72 | $335.0M | 18,155 t |
| April 2025 | $323.0M | +4.8% | 3,626 t | $89.10 | $453.9M | 24,140 t |
| March 2025 | $281.1M | -6.6% | 2,003 t | $140.31 | $441.1M | 22,068 t |
| February 2025 | $270.0M | -16.8% | 1,646 t | $164.05 | $384.5M | 14,208 t |
| January 2025 | $282.8M | -25.1% | 2,178 t | $129.86 | $368.8M | 12,460 t |
| December 2024 | $287.9M | -0.7% | 1,711 t | $168.26 | $435.5M | 17,040 t |
| November 2024 | $308.2M | -2.1% | 1,648 t | $187.09 | $401.7M | 23,872 t |
Exports FOB, imports CIF, US dollars. Weight is net weight. "vs year earlier" compares export value with the same month one year before and is left blank when that month was under $10,000. Source: Korea Customs Service, via data.go.kr.