Electronic integrated circuits (semiconductor chips): South Korea exports and imports
HS 8542 · 전자집적회로 · latest month: October 2026
In October 2026, South Korea exported $40.02 billion of electronic integrated circuits (semiconductor chips) (HS 8542), down 7.2% from September 2026 and up 203.7% from October 2025.
Over the 12 months to October 2026, exports of electronic integrated circuits (semiconductor chips) (HS 8542) totalled $333.77 billion, up 148.6% from the 12 months before ($134.24 billion).
The largest destination over the 12 months to October 2026 was China ($127.16 billion, 38.1% of the total), followed by Taiwan and Hong Kong.
That was 71.0% of South Korea's exports under HS chapter 85 (electrical machinery and electronics) over the same 12 months.
Imports in October 2026 were $9.63 billion (up 82.3% from October 2025), leaving a surplus of $30.39 billion for the month.
Official description of HS 8542: Electronic integrated circuits.
Last 24 months
Subheadings under HS 8542
| Code | Product | Exports, 12 months | Share | vs 12 months before | October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8542.31 | Processors and controllers, whether or not combined with memories, converters, logic circuits, amplifiers, clock and tim | $42.69B | 12.8% | +15.6% | $4.74B |
| 8542.31.1000 | Monolithic integrated circuits | $29.49B | 69.1% | +9.2% | $3.40B |
| 8542.31.2000 | Hybrid integrated circuits | $12.7M | 0.0% | +274.8% | $1.4M |
| 8542.31.3000 | Multichip integrated circuits | $3.19B | 7.5% | +3.8% | $496.9M |
| 8542.31.4000 | Multi-component integrated circuits (MCOs) | $10.00B | 23.4% | +45.9% | $840.9M |
| 8542.32 | Memories | $279.33B | 83.7% | +225.9% | $34.33B |
| 8542.32.1010 | DRAM (Dynamic random access memory) | $123.20B | 44.1% | +361.4% | $17.96B |
| 8542.32.1020 | SRAM (Static random access memory) | $57.7M | 0.0% | +674.8% | $523K |
| 8542.32.1030 | Flash memory | $24.55B | 8.8% | +288.6% | $2.97B |
| 8542.32.1090 | Other | $650.7M | 0.2% | +73.3% | $53.4M |
| 8542.32.2000 | Hybrid integrated circuits | $3.1M | 0.0% | +301.9% | $8,107 |
| 8542.32.3000 | Multichip integrated circuits | $111.09B | 39.8% | +139.4% | $12.26B |
| 8542.32.4000 | Multi-component integrated circuits (MCOs) | $19.78B | 7.1% | +235.2% | $1.08B |
| 8542.33 | Amplifiers | $197.8M | 0.1% | +17.2% | $19.4M |
| 8542.33.1000 | Monolithic integrated circuits | $143.0M | 72.3% | +14.0% | $13.7M |
| 8542.33.2000 | Hybrid integrated circuits | $8.9M | 4.5% | +0.9% | $767K |
| 8542.33.3000 | Multichip integrated circuits | $17.7M | 9.0% | +18.1% | $1.1M |
| 8542.33.4000 | Multi-component integrated circuits (MCOs) | $28.2M | 14.3% | +44.9% | $3.8M |
| 8542.39 | Other | $11.08B | 3.3% | +0.1% | $891.2M |
| 8542.39.1000 | Monolithic integrated circuits | $10.58B | 95.5% | -0.8% | $848.9M |
| 8542.39.2000 | Hybrid integrated circuits | $33.8M | 0.3% | +159.3% | $4.8M |
| 8542.39.3000 | Multichip integrated circuits | $260.2M | 2.3% | +11.2% | $22.2M |
| 8542.39.4000 | Multi-component integrated circuits (MCOs) | $202.5M | 1.8% | +35.6% | $15.4M |
| 8542.90 | Parts | $473.0M | 0.1% | +27.9% | $45.9M |
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. 116 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 | China | $127.16B | 38.1% | +212.3% | 1 | $18.16B |
| 2 | Taiwan | $53.69B | 16.1% | +60.7% | 2 | $5.96B |
| 3 | Hong Kong | $50.21B | 15.0% | +165.2% | 4 | $3.82B |
| 4 | Vietnam | $46.86B | 14.0% | +123.5% | 3 | $4.01B |
| 5 | Philippines | $13.47B | 4.0% | +538.7% | 8 | $2.77B |
| 6 | Malaysia | $13.16B | 3.9% | +229.9% | 6 | $1.78B |
| 7 | Singapore | $7.48B | 2.2% | +65.0% | 5 | $1.16B |
| 8 | India | $6.25B | 1.9% | +102.2% | 7 | $577.0M |
| 9 | United States | $3.27B | 1.0% | +227.2% | 9 | $517.1M |
| 10 | Brazil | $2.49B | 0.7% | +153.8% | 10 | $261.1M |
| 11 | Japan | $2.35B | 0.7% | +167.5% | 11 | $278.0M |
| 12 | Thailand | $2.34B | 0.7% | +198.1% | 12 | $202.2M |
| 13 | Indonesia | $1.04B | 0.3% | +116.3% | 13 | $53.4M |
| 14 | Mexico | $802.1M | 0.2% | +94.7% | 15 | $146.4M |
| 15 | Germany | $589.8M | 0.2% | +61.4% | 16 | $96.8M |
| 16 | Poland | $404.7M | 0.1% | -3.5% | 14 | $53.8M |
| 17 | Netherlands | $337.8M | 0.1% | +176.0% | 19 | $35.7M |
| 18 | Egypt | $290.0M | 0.1% | +217.4% | 23 | $37.7M |
| 19 | Canada | $256.6M | 0.1% | +190.0% | 24 | $1.0M |
| 20 | Austria | $219.1M | 0.1% | +68.9% | 18 | $16.1M |
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 | $40.02B | +203.7% | 1,759 t | $22,755.55 | $9.63B | 641 t |
| September 2026 | $43.12B | +216.5% | 1,788 t | $24,114.06 | $10.95B | 637 t |
| August 2026 | $38.24B | +203.1% | 1,674 t | $22,837.20 | $9.62B | 635 t |
| July 2026 | $32.72B | +166.3% | 1,680 t | $19,479.04 | $8.38B | 659 t |
| June 2026 | $33.56B | +173.9% | 1,742 t | $19,271.68 | $8.82B | 692 t |
| May 2026 | $29.43B | +154.3% | 1,639 t | $17,963.43 | $7.68B | 601 t |
| April 2026 | $25.24B | +158.2% | 1,747 t | $14,448.00 | $7.59B | 670 t |
| March 2026 | $24.90B | +138.2% | 1,770 t | $14,071.34 | $7.22B | 690 t |
| February 2026 | $19.45B | +139.8% | 1,473 t | $13,204.92 | $5.65B | 527 t |
| January 2026 | $16.40B | +98.4% | 1,662 t | $9,867.56 | $6.13B | 643 t |
| December 2025 | $16.73B | +43.3% | 1,645 t | $10,165.12 | $6.24B | 670 t |
| November 2025 | $13.95B | +33.9% | 1,532 t | $9,106.16 | $5.10B | 585 t |
| October 2025 | $13.18B | +21.6% | 1,592 t | $8,275.72 | $5.28B | 595 t |
| September 2025 | $13.62B | +20.3% | 1,765 t | $7,717.10 | $5.08B | 678 t |
| August 2025 | $12.62B | +24.5% | 1,653 t | $7,629.88 | $5.19B | 611 t |
| July 2025 | $12.29B | +26.2% | 1,700 t | $7,229.68 | $5.37B | 701 t |
| June 2025 | $12.26B | +9.3% | 1,605 t | $7,633.63 | $5.10B | 656 t |
| May 2025 | $11.57B | +17.9% | 1,580 t | $7,327.73 | $4.62B | 665 t |
| April 2025 | $9.78B | +13.4% | 1,590 t | $6,148.29 | $4.74B | 645 t |
| March 2025 | $10.46B | +9.1% | 1,569 t | $6,663.55 | $5.31B | 660 t |
| February 2025 | $8.11B | -5.9% | 1,384 t | $5,863.58 | $4.75B | 622 t |
| January 2025 | $8.27B | +0.8% | 1,366 t | $6,054.00 | $4.92B | 593 t |
| December 2024 | $11.67B | +29.6% | 1,493 t | $7,817.97 | $5.78B | 648 t |
| November 2024 | $10.42B | +27.7% | 1,510 t | $6,904.61 | $5.44B | 595 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.